Canadian Blood Services

1800 Alta Vista Drive
Ottawa, ON K1G 4J5
CEO: Dr. Graham D. Sher
Board Chair: Brian Postl

Charitable Reg. #:87015 7641 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A-

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

89%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 89 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Canadian Blood Services:

Canadian Blood Services is 3-star charity with above average results reporting and reasonable overhead spending. It is financially transparent and with current reserves it can cover almost seven months of annual program costs.

Founded in 1998, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is a national charity that manages the blood supply of all of Canada’s provinces and territories, excluding Quebec. It replaced the Red Cross blood program on the recommendation of the Krever Commission. Canadian Blood Services' main focus areas are Plasma, Blood, Stem Cells, Organs and Tissues, and Diagnostic Services. CBS also conducts medical research in all these areas. The charity reports that there are over 17.5 million eligible donors in Canada, but less than 2% of the population donates blood and plasma.

In F2022, Plasma was 63% of total spending. Canadian Blood Services reports that currently the total plasma volume that it collects meets 15% of Canadian patients' needs. In F2022, CBS built three new plasma donor centers in Sudbury, ON; Lethbridge, AB; and Kelowna, BC. CBS reports that in these three centers, 60% of existing donors transitioned to plasma donations.

In F2022, Blood was 33% of total spending. Canadian Blood Services' blood program collects blood from Canadians and distributes it to the provincial health agencies from every province. Blood donations are used in many medical procedures such as treating cancer patients and helping trauma victims. CBS states that it takes 13,000 blood donations every year, through its 35 permanent donor centers and 4,000 mobile donor centers. It reports that every year, it needs approximately 100,000 new donors to maintain their blood supply.

The remaining 4% of spending goes to Stem Cells (2%), Organs and Tissues (1%), and Diagnostic services (1%). CBS manages and runs the national donor registry for stem cells. Stem cell transplants are used to treat more than 80 blood-related diseases and disorders, such as congenital heart disease or Type 1 diabetes. The registry has over 600,000 registrants. In 2015, Canadian Blood Services established a public cord blood bank, which supports the stem cell bank by collecting and storing donations of umbilical cord blood and manufacturing stem cells.

In December 2021, Canadian Blood Services submitted a request to Health Canada to extend the donor eligibility criteria to everybody regardless of gender and sexuality. Previous regulations were particularly restricting towards men who have sex with men, due to concerns about HIV transmission. In April 2022, Health Canada approved the removal of the donor eligibility criteria. Starting September 2022, the new regulations were set in place.

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Results and Impact

CBS reports that in F2022, its researchers had 16 peer-reviewed journal publications. It also reports that as a result of its research, there were five changes to donor eligibility criteria at Canada's two blood operators (CBS and Héma-Québec). 

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Canadian Blood Services’ results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

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Finances

Canadian Blood Services received $1.1m in cash donations in F2022.  In its audited financial statements, the charity does not quantify the amount of donated blood, plasma, stem cells and organs it received. The charity also received $1.3b in government funding, representing 97% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (less investment income). The charity does not report fundraising costs. This results in total overhead spending of 11%. For every dollar donated, 89 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Canadian Blood Services has reserve funds of $638.6m. These are the charity’s cash and investments. The reserve funds can cover almost seven months of annual program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Canadian Blood Services for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 23, 2023 by Alessandra Castino. 

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 11.4%12.5%12.3%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 0.0%0.0%0.0%
Total overhead spending 11.4%12.5%12.3%
Program cost coverage (%) 55.2%63.3%65.4%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 1,1221,5981,266
Goods in kind 4031,787659
Government funding 1,307,5321,160,2311,155,754
Business activities (net) 18,30516,09316,840
Investment income 18,60736,03814,977
Other income 1,0464,176405
Total revenues 1,347,0151,219,9231,189,901
Program costs 1,157,1001,052,6471,053,079
Administrative costs 151,617147,406144,726
Fundraising costs 000
Other costs 8,239(278)45,706
Total spending 1,316,9561,199,7751,243,511
Cash flow from operations 30,05920,148(53,610)
Capital spending 16,58816,18714,984
Funding reserves 638,649666,563688,389

Note: Ci reported donations from the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA and removed it from other revenue. Ci excluded amortization of deferred contributions, decreasing total revenues by $46.7m in F2022, $44.3m in F2021, and $38.3m in F2020. Ci included received capital contribution, increasing total revenues by $17.1m in F2022, $16.5m in F2021, and $17.9m in F2020. Ci adjusted for deferred donations, affecting total revenues by $24.9m in F2022, ($6.7m) in F2021, and ($13.4m) in F2020. Ci included unrealized gains, affecting investment income by $14.4m in F2022, $4.3m in F2021 and ($11.1m) in F2020. Business activities are not reported net of expenses. Other costs include foreign exchange loss (gain), and losses and incurred expenses which the charity does not specify further.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 2,476

Avg. compensation: $96,307

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
10
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.blood.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 1-888-236-6283

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001