The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDG Regulations) are comprised of 16 Parts and 3 Schedules and can be viewed by using the following link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/tdg/clear-tofc-211.htm
Question 1: Under Transport Canada legislation, is the patient permitted to bring in their own tubes of blood to drop off at a testing facility? If yes, is there an exemption they are transporting under?
Answer: Yes. Section 1.42 of the TDG Regulations allows to use an exemption to transport blood sample. When using this exemption, you are exempted from Part 3 (Documentation), Part 4 (Dangerous Goods Safety Marks), Part 5 ( Means of containment), Part 6 (Training), Part 7 (Emergency Response Assistance Plan) and Part 8 (Reporting Requirements). However, professional judgment is required to determine that there is no reason to believe the blood sample contains infectious substances.
Question 2: Do they require training to be able to transport the blood?
Answer: As mentioned above, if they meet all of the requirements of the exemption, training requirements (Part 6) are exempted.
Question 3: Are we as the receiver taking on a liability because we have accepted the tube of blood and know that the patient has not been trained on transportation of Class 6.2?
Answer: If the blood is being shipped under Section 1.42, then training is not required. If it is not shipped under Section 1.42, it is the consignor’s responsibility (shipper) to comply with TDG Regulations.