Canadian Health Coalition welcomes pause of Grifols operations, renews call to end for-profit plasma collection
The Canadian Health Coalition welcomes news that Grifols has temporarily stopped operating its for-profit plasma collection clinics in Canada as of August 14, but wants Canadian Blood Services (CBS) to immediately end its agreement with Grifols. The contract allows the for-profit multinational firm to act as a CBS agent for plasma collection and to buy plasma.
Grifols has temporarily closed its operations after investigative journalists uncovered three deaths at its Winnipeg location since 2018 and numerous compliance violations at its other sites across Canada. The violations involve rules meant to keep plasma donors safe.
Media reports have shone a light on deficiencies at Grifols centres. On August 19, The Globe and Mail reported that Health Canada has accepted Grifols’ revised reports, allowing the company to now argue there were only six – not 25 – such incidents at the company’s facilities.
“It appears Health Canada is revising its reports based on the influence of Grifols and its self-reporting. We expect Health Canada and other responsible parties to conduct a full investigation into the deaths of people at Grifols locations and into its compliance system,” said Jason MacLean, chair of the Canadian Health Coalition.
According to the information requests to federal and provincial authorities shared with The Globe and Mail, over the 46 minutes that 22-year-old international student Rodiyat Alabede was donating plasma at the Grifols facility in Winnipeg, the donation machine displayed five alerts related to her blood pressure and blood flow. According to the plasma machine’s operating manual, the alerts should have resulted in the donation being terminated. Alabede convulsed for two minutes before Grifols staff ended the donation. About an hour later, she died.
The Canadian Health Coalition has long opposed the sale of plasma. Canadian Blood Services collects plasma and other blood products from donors, but Grifols pays people for their plasma and aggressively advertises the thousands of dollars that a seller can make in a year selling their plasma.
The Coalition fully supports the Canadian Blood Services’ mandate to ensure a safe and secure supply of plasma and other blood products for Canadians, but firmly believes this can be achieved through voluntary collection.
“We should never have allowed private plasma corporations to buy plasma. It’s not allowed in most countries so why is Canada allowing it?” added MacLean.
