(April 2, 2026) By: Anastasia Blosser and Sheila Reid, The Toronto Star<\/p>\n
The demands by the health coalitions are continuing to put for-profit plasma donation in Canada under scrutiny and come after two people died after giving plasma at Grifols-operated clinics in Winnipeg.<\/em><\/p>\n Health advocates are demanding an end to paid plasma collection in Canada and calling for transparency from public health authorities following the deaths of two people who donated plasma at private clinics operated by pharmaceutical company Grifols.<\/p>\n The Canadian Health Coalition (CHC), alongside provincial counterparts, are demanding a judicial inquest into the deaths, as well as the public release of the controversial contract between Canadian Blood Services (CBS) and Grifols that allows the multinational pharmaceutical to pay donors for plasma.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you bring profit into health care \u2014 which is already a life and death arena \u2014 it can have serious consequences,\u201d said Manitoba Health Coalition (MHC) leader Noah Schulz Tuesday. \u201cWe do not want to see another person die.\u201d<\/p>\n The demands by the health coalitions are continuing to put for-profit plasma donation in Canada under scrutiny and come after two people died after giving plasma at Grifols-operated clinics in Winnipeg during the last six months. A third person in Winnipeg has launched a legal action against Grifols alleging kidney damage caused by equipment failure during a donation.<\/p>\n Coalition leaders say the incidents, combined with documented compliance problems, point to systemic risks with a profit-driven model of plasma collection. The groups side with one of the key principles that Justice Horace Krever laid down after the inquiry into Canada\u2019s tainted blood scandal \u2014 that donations are safest when they are voluntary \u2014 and argue that paying for plasma preys on the financially vulnerable.<\/p>\n In a statement to the Star, Grifols said it compensates donors for their time and that it welcomes \u201cstudents, working professionals, public service personnel and others through our doors each day.\u201d The company said donors are \u201chealthy members of the local community who are committed to helping their fellow citizens with life-threatening illnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the deaths, Grifols said it followed Health Canada\u2019s protocol, reporting the deaths within 72 hours of the donation and have commenced an internal investigation.<\/p>\n Grifols vice president of sales Mary Hughes repeatedly told members of parliament at a March 26 meeting for the Standing Committee on Health that \u201ctoday, there is no correlation\u201d between the deaths at Grifols\u2019 Winnipeg sites and the donations.<\/p>\n Health Canada is investigating the deaths and have not made any findings public. The federal Health Ministry did not respond to the Star\u2019s request for comment surrounding the deaths.<\/p>\n Natalie Mehra, the director of the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), said the ethics of buying and selling plasma were wrong from the beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t allow commodifying human organs for good reason, because it is such a dangerous thing to do. It\u2019s so exploitative,\u201d she said. \u201cWe should not do it with blood products either.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspection reports from Health Canada over the past four years appear to bolster those concerns. Facilities operated by Grifols in Winnipeg, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon and St. John have been cited for multiple instances of non-compliance, including in donor screening, quality management and staff training.<\/p>\n \u201cThese findings are deeply troubling,\u201d said Geoff Cain, a former CBS employee and volunteer advocate with the OHC. \u201cThey show fail after fail after fail.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s blood supply is managed by CBS, a registered charity established in 1998. The non-profit collects both blood and blood products like plasma, a pale-yellow liquid that can be used in direct transfusions and in the production of pharmaceutical products.<\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s Voluntary Blood Donations Act bans paid plasma, but exempts CBS from this ban. Grifols and CBS entered into a contract in 2022 that allows the private company to operate as the nonprofit\u2019s \u201cagent\u201d in plasma collection. CBS maintains that this was necessary to mitigate a \u201cglobal shortage of lifesaving immunoglobulins.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics say this isn\u2019t an ambiguity in the law, but a violation of it.<\/p>\n Federal members of parliament have passed a motion to compel CBS to disclose its contract with Grifols by April 10.<\/p>\n In response to the Star\u2019s question about whether they were prepared to hand over that contract, CBS said it\u2019s bound by \u201ccommercial confidentiality\u201d related to the transaction and the contract\u2019s provisions, and referred the Star to Grifols.<\/p>\n Now, the health coalitions are urging federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel to transition entirely to a public, voluntary system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Schulz said he believes Health Canada and other regulators have a responsibility to intervene in the paid plasma industry before more harm is done.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Health Canada told the Star it visited the Winnipeg Grifols centres after learning of the deaths, identified areas of non-compliance and requested corrective actions. The federal organization also conducted a virtual inspection of Grifols\u2019 head office in Oakville and found quality management issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Health Canada added the issues were not considered \u201ccritical\u201d and \u201cthere is no evidence that plasma safety or quality was affected.\u201d<\/p>\n Click here for the original article<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (April 2, 2026) By: Anastasia Blosser and Sheila Reid, The Toronto Star The demands by the health coalitions are continuing to put for-profit plasma donation in Canada under scrutiny and come after two people died after giving plasma at Grifols-operated clinics in Winnipeg. Health advocates are demanding an end to paid plasma collection in Canada […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ohc-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\n