Health-care providers across Canada are being urged to avoid non-essential blood tests amid a global shortage of medically vital blood collection tubes.
鈥淚f the tube shortage gets worse and reaches a critical shortage in Canada, you will see labs implementing emergency measures that may include closing outpatient testing temporarily to protect acute care services,鈥 Dr. Daniel Beriault told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淭his will have a massive impact on patient care in Canada, but we are all hoping it doesn鈥檛 get to that point.鈥
Beriault is the head of biochemistry at the Unity Health Toronto hospital network, and a member of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists, which represents the biochemists who analyze bodily fluids like blood in medical labs. On Tuesday, the group to highlight the urgent need to 鈥渃onserve testing resources to high priority patients to mitigate the crisis,鈥 which also includes shortages of other essential lab gear like syringes and needles.
Beriault cites several reasons for the blood tube supply issues, all of which are tied to the COVID-19 pandemic: unprecedented demand for tubes for tests, a shortage of medical-grade plastics, transportation backlogs and staffing problems.
鈥淚t looks like every province is affected to some degree,鈥 Beriault said.
Blood tube shortages have officially been reported in provinces like and , which have asked health-care providers to cancel or delay non-urgent blood tests.
鈥淲e anticipate our supplies will be tight for the foreseeable future,鈥 Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kerry Williamson told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淲e continue to encourage physicians to limit non-essential or unnecessary test ordering in order reduce consumption and ensure testing continues to be available for those who require it.鈥
The Medical Laboratory Professionals鈥 Association of Ontario is too, which CEO Michelle Hoad says is compounded by staffing shortfalls in labs that are already overburdened from COVID-19 testing.
鈥淪ome of the labs anticipated it was going to be a problem, so a lot actually ordered heavily in the fall of last year to prepare,鈥 Hoad told CTVNews.ca from Hamilton, Ont. 鈥淣ow they鈥檙e starting to really feel the shortage.鈥
Shortages have also been reported by private companies , which is Canada鈥檚 largest provider of community laboratory services.
Despite the reports and pleas, blood tubes were not on a Health Canada at the time of writing. Health Canada says importers and manufactures have been required to report blood tube shortages since Feb. 10, when they were declared an essential , joining N95 respirators and surgical gowns.
鈥淗ealth Canada has engaged Canadian hospitals, provinces and territories, and industry in order to assess the supply situation of blood specimen collection tubes,鈥 Health Canada spokesperson Marie-Pier Burelle told CTVNews.ca. 鈥淗ealth Canada will continue to work with all key stakeholders to gather information and support continued access to these medical devices.鈥
At Unity Health Toronto, that kind of help can鈥檛 come soon enough.
鈥淎t one point my institution was down to two days鈥 worth of green top tubes left, and seven days of gold top tubes,鈥 Beriault said, the colours referring to tubes for different tests. 鈥淟uckily, a hospital down the street helped us out by sending 3,000 tubes until we were able to find alternative tube supply.鈥
Beriault says they鈥檝e paid it forward by sending tubes to other sites.
The situation is not unique to Canada. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced and urged health-care providers to only perform 鈥渕edically necessary鈥 blood draws. The U.S. has also now limited blood tube exports, which has exacerbated the problem for countries that don鈥檛 manufacture them, like Canada. Similar shortages have also been reported
was launched in 2014 as a national campaign to reduce unnecessary medical tests and treatments. In February, it sounded the alarm about Canada鈥檚 blood tube shortage and to conserve supplies.
鈥淪till many physicians are not aware that there is a tube shortage,鈥 Beriault said. 鈥淭here is some waste in lab testing currently, and cutting that down would have the added benefit of helping us conserve lab tubes.鈥
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