Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System (TTISS) Ontario
Written by:
Dr. Andrew Shih TTISS Ontario Director
Melanie St John TTISS Ontario Coordinator
The Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Surveillance System (TTISS) continues to play a crucial role in safeguarding the health of Canadians by monitoring and reporting adverse reactions to blood products, including blood components and plasma derivatives. The commitment of all 159 Ontario hospitals contributes to the continuous improvement and effectiveness of TTISS.
On November 24th, 2025, TTISS Ontario hosted a highly successful hybrid meeting, attracting over 200 attendees. This event provided a platform for all to share insights, discuss challenges, and collaborate on enhancing transfusion safety. Attendees had the opportunity to hear from several outstanding speakers during the event, with topics including: adverse reaction reporting in rural and community settings, an update for the revision of the TTISS Manual, pathogen reduction and its relevance to adverse reactions, interactive case presentations, and transfusion reactions in the operating room.
A major initiative for 2025 is the comprehensive update of the TTISS Manual, which has remained unchanged since 2007. This revision aims to incorporate the latest advancements in adverse reaction definitions highly informed by the recent Quebec INSPQ version of the manual for alignment and guidance from a multidisciplinary stakeholder group; to inform future best practices.
TTISS Ontario also showcased its work at the most recent Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) conference in Newfoundland, presenting two posters: one examining the impact on pathogen-reduced platelet implementation, and another exploring the Impact on solvent detergent plasma on adverse transfusion reaction reporting. Hemovigilance and adverse reactions will be featured in multiple sessions/workshops at the 2026 conference held in Hamilton, Ontario.
Finally, with the sunsetting of the Blood Safety Contribution Program in April 2026, a consensus conference is currently being planned to guide recommendations for the future of hemovigilance. Interviews and stakeholder engagement have begun to inform the proceedings. PHAC has also confirmed that access to the Canadian Network for Public Health Intelligence (CNPHI), a web-based data platform, will remain available to BSCP recipients until March 31, 2027, allowing provinces and territories to continue submitting data. This extension will serve as a bridge while a long-term hemovigilance framework is under development.
If interested, please visit our TTISS Website for additional resources.