The following is a review of developments affecting health care in Canada

Canadian physicians warn that Canada is fast running out of blood, and a severe shortage may lead to a crisis in surgery cancellations by 2005. Canada's blood shortage is the result of a number of factors, including an increase of use as well as a decrease in supply. In Ontario, for example, the use of blood is rising by 8% a year, largely because an aging population is having more and more complex procedures.

There also has been a decrease in the rate of people donating blood, largely because of donor deferrals. Anyone who has been to Britain or Europe for 12 weeks since 1980 is off the donor list because of the risk of mad cow disease. Ear and other body part piercing is another criterion for exclusion.