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Toronto councillor, MPP, call on Ottawa to ban for-profit plasma clinics after 2 Winnipeg deaths
Posted: March 14, 2026
(March 13, 2026) Gabe Oatley, VillageReport
Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols, which operates paid plasma clinics, says it has ‘no reason to believe that there is a correlation between the donors’ death and plasma donation’
Following the deaths of two people who gave blood plasma at for-profit clinics in Winnipeg, an Ontario MPP, Toronto city councillor and several advocacy groups are calling on the federal government to ban pay-for-plasma collection clinics nationwide.
“Close them right now — this afternoon,” said NDP health critic and MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) in an interview with TorontoToday on Thursday. “They put people’s lives at risk.”
On Wednesday, CBC News reported that two people, including an international student from Nigeria, have died in the last five months after possibly suffering fatal adverse reactions following plasma donations at different Winnipeg clinics run by the Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols.
The controversial company has five clinics in Ontario, including two in Toronto, where individuals are paid up to $100 per visit for giving blood plasma.
This winter, TorontoToday reported on concerns from health advocates who said the company’s “gamified” financial incentives encourage vulnerable individuals to donate plasma more often than studies have suggested is safe.
In an emailed statement, Health Canada spokesperson André Gagnon said the federal health agency received two reports in recent months from Grifols about the donor deaths in Winnipeg.
The first death, of 22-year-old international student Rodiyat Alabede, occurred on Oct. 25, 2025, after she donated blood plasma. The second occurred about three months later, on Jan. 30, according to Health Canada, though the person’s identity has not been disclosed.
What happened?
Speaking with CBC News, Alabede’s close friend Mary Ann Chika said she was the one to identify Alabede at the hospital after she was pronounced dead. Doctors told Chika that Alabede’s heart stopped beating while she was giving plasma, per CBC’s report.
Gagnon noted that Canada’s blood donation regulations dictate plasma collection clinics that have “reasonable grounds to believe a donor has experienced a serious adverse reaction during a donation or within 72 hours following” must report it to Health Canada.
He said Health Canada “immediately” conducted on-site visits of the Winnipeg facilities after receiving reports from Grifols about the deaths. Gagnon stressed that while assessment of the reports is ongoing, “no link has been made between the plasma donation process and the two deaths.”
In a statement posted to its website on Thursday, Canadian Blood Services said serious health events caused as a result of plasma donations are exceedingly rare due to the stringent regulations required by Health Canada.
A Grifols spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company was “saddened to learn of the recent passings of two of our plasma donors.”
The spokesperson added that based on the information currently available, the company has “no reason to believe that there is a correlation between the donors’ passing and plasma donation.”
MPP Gélinas said she does not believe this to be true. She called the company’s statement an attempt to limit liability.
“Now we have the unfortunate proof that we should not pay for plasma,” she charged. “Once the profit motive comes into the equation, they cut corners, [and] they put people at risk.”
Coun. Chris Moise (Toronto-Centre), the city’s board of health chair, expressed a similar sentiment.
“I fear that this is now a needlessly tragic story about the consequences of permitting ‘blood money,’” he said in a statement. “I would strongly urge the federal government to end this practice and reform our public donation system immediately.”
In interviews with TorontoToday on Thursday, spokespeople for the advocacy groups Canadian Health Coalition and Ontario Health Coalition also said paid plasma collection should be banned.
TorontoToday endeavoured to reach Health Minister Marjorie Michel to inquire whether a ban is being contemplated. A spokesperson for the minister did not provide a response, redirecting questions to Health Canada.
On Thursday, Manitoba’s health minister said that banning paid plasma clinics in the province is an option on the table in light of the two deaths.
Grifols facing lawsuit
In addition to scrutiny surrounding the two Winnipeg deaths, Grifols is also facing a recent lawsuit filed by a plasma donor who alleges he was physically harmed by a plasma donation at one of the company’s clinics.
Last July, Craig Loney, a 43-year-old aircraft maintenance technician, filed a lawsuit alleging he sustained an “acute kidney injury” as a result of a machine error during a plasma donation at a Grifols clinic in Winnipeg in 2023, according to the Globe and Mail.
Grifols has denied the allegations and asked for the case to be dismissed. In a statement of defence, the company said Loney was “fully informed of the risks and side effects” of plasma donation and still consented to proceed, per the New York Times.
Separately, Grifols is also facing scrutiny over Health Canada inspections that identified substandard performance at four of its clinics over the past four years.
Since 2022, Health Canada inspections have found the four Grifols clinics, located across three provinces, were acting out of compliance with Canadian laws and regulations. Two of the non-compliant results — one for a Grifols clinic in Regina and the other for a location in Calgary — have come within the past four months.
One of the issues identified at both the Regina and Calgary facilities is considered a “critical” infraction — the highest level per Health Canada’s risk assessment framework. In both cases, investigators identified that the facilities “did not collect [blood components] according to its authorization from Health Canada.”
Both inspections also found that the clinics “did not accurately assess the donor’s suitability” for plasma donation, that the “validation, calibration, cleaning, or maintenance of critical equipment were not always sufficient,” and that the clinics “did not thoroughly investigate errors and accidents and determine corrective and preventive actions.”
In addition, the Regina inspection, which began on Jan. 13, found that the expiry dates of critical supplies were not always observed, and that the program for evaluating staff competency was not sufficient.
Asked about the results, Grifols said, as per Health Canada requirements, it submitted action plans for the aspects of its operational processes requiring improvement, and began implementation “immediately,” with a focus on preventing recurrence.
After a finding of non-compliance, the federal health minister may choose to suspend all or part of an establishment’s licence.
Canada’s laws also mandate that the minister must cancel an operator’s licence to collect blood or blood components if “the establishment’s compliance history demonstrates an inability to consistently conduct its activities in accordance with” the regulations.
The minister has not taken any such steps with Grifols.
In their emailed statement to TorontoToday, the pharmaceutical company’s spokesperson noted that its Regina and Calgary clinics “continue normal operations while we implement corrective actions to address the cited concerns.”
Was Grifols giving donors enough time to recover between visits?
In the statement this week, the company seemed to acknowledge it had been collecting plasma at a faster interval than was permitted under its authorization with Health Canada. This is contrary to what the company had previously told TorontoToday.
Under Health Canada’s authorization agreement with Grifols, the company is permitted to collect plasma from an individual up to two times in a seven-day period, with a minimum of two days between visits.
This is much more frequently than the once every six days that Canadian Blood Services is permitted to collect plasma, despite the company operating as Grifols’ “agent” in Canada.
A recent meta study has found donating plasma twice per week can cause negative health impacts for donors, including iron deficiency and impacts to immunoglobulin levels, an infection-fighting antibody.
Nonetheless, the company told TorontoToday last December that it permitted donations more frequently than what had been authorized by Health Canada — requiring just one day between donations.
In January, TorontoToday pressed the company on the seeming violation of its authorization. The company denied that it was operating improperly, claiming a difference between days and “calendar days.”
“Donors must have at least one calendar day between donations,” the company said in an emailed statement on Jan. 5, 2025. “This means that if a person donates on Tuesday, they can return and donate again on Thursday. This would allow two days between donations, with one calendar day between visits.”
The company also seemed to claim the donation interval was above board with the federal regulator. “This procedure is approved by Health Canada, who regularly audits our operating procedures (which include donation frequency),” the spokesperson said.
Asked about the Grifols’ statement, a Health Canada spokesperson downplayed concern.
In an email on Jan. 14, 2025, Health Canada spokesperson Joshua Coke re-confirmed that a minimum of two days was required between any individual’s plasma donations at Grifols, but suggested perhaps a company spokesperson had made an “error” in their email.
On March 9, however, Grifols responded to TorontoToday’s questions about its recent substandard inspection results, noting a recent “clarification” made by Health Canada with respect to its authorized minimum waiting period between donations.
“Health Canada’s robust inspection framework and associated regulations help us to ensure that we are operating within their guidance and in pursuit of continuous improvement,” the company said. “This includes clarifying the waiting period between donations from two days to 48 hours.”
On Monday, the company updated its website informing donors of a change to its frequency rules. As of March 9, individuals must now wait at least 48 hours between donations.
While the distinction between one rest day or two would not have impacted the overall number of times an individual could donate plasma in a seven-day period, it would have meant donors who gave at the most constrained interval would have had less time to replenish their bodies’ proteins and fluids.
Advocates call for independent inquest
On Friday, the Ontario Health Coalition and its sister group the Manitoba Health Coalition hosted a press conference, calling for inquest into the two recent deaths following plasma donations at Grifols’ facilities.
In an interview with TorontoToday on Thursday, Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said she believes the public has the right to an investigation independent of Health Canada.
Gélinas questioned how the serious issues identified in Health Canada’s recent inspections of Grifols facilities did not result in more significant action.
In response to TorontoToday’s questions about Grifols’ four non-compliant inspections in the last four years, the Grifols spokesperson did not respond directly.
“Donor safety and plasma quality remain our top priorities; and we are committed to ensuring the long-term integrity and reliability of our operations worldwide,” they said.
Gélinas said she is fearful the two recent deaths following donations at Grifols’ facilities will make Canadians less likely to give plasma, imperilling the domestic supply.
“The healthcare system is based on trust,” she said. “When you have things like [this] happen, it will affect the Canadian Blood Services, I guarantee you.”
Canada’s current blood donation system relies heavily on donors voluntarily giving blood, and other blood components like plasma, to two non-profits — Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Quebec — which were set up to manage the system.
However, over the past decade, some for-profit plasma collection clinics, including Grifols, have also been licensed to operate domestically.
Canadian Blood Services has supported the company to do so, arguing in 2022, that paid plasma collection is necessary to shore up the national supply of immunoglobulins — a protein essential for making medications some Canadians rely on — which are derived from plasma.
Indeed, since entering an agreement with Grifols in 2022, a Canadian Blood Services spokesperson told TorontoToday there has been an increase in domestic plasma sufficiency for immunoglobulins, from approximately 15 per cent to 31 per cent as of the end of September 2025.
Does paid plasma exploit vulnerable people?
Advocates critical of paid plasma donation have long warned that people who are financially vulnerable often choose to participate.
Tracy Glynn, a national director with the Canadian Health Coalition, said she was particularly troubled to learn that one of the individuals who died following a visit to a Grifols’ clinic was an international student.
A GoFundMe seeking to raise funds to support the young students’ funeral and burial expenses notes Alabede came to Canada to study at the University of Winnipeg with hopes of becoming a social worker and of “making a difference.”
TorontoToday endeavoured to reach Alabede’s friends, but was unsuccessful. It is not known if she donated plasma because of the financial incentives.
Within the past two weeks, Grifols locations across Canada rolled out a new set of social media ads, promoting the company’s “biggest give-away yet.” For every five plasma donations made over about a four month span this spring and summer, individuals can receive one entry into a draw for $35,000 in cash prizes.
One of the ads, promoted by Grifols North York, encouraged people to participate for a chance to win free tuition or a housing down payment, among other things.
As of March 13, the ad was no longer being promoted by the company’s North York location, but was still in use by the company’s Winnipeg location, per Meta’s ad library.
Asked about the rationale for the ads’ termination at its North York location, Grifols said its digital advertising “works on a rotating basis and is regularly updated.”
“This ad is not scheduled in the future,” the spokesperson said.
