A for-profit plasma donation clinic says it has temporarily paused collection at all Canadian clinics amid “unfounded attention.”
Grifols told Global News in a statement that the company voluntarily decided to pause collection and has communicated the decision to Health Canada.
The announcement of the closure comes on the same day Health Canada released the results of its investigation which found several compliance concerns at the company. The federal health department issued a notice of non-compliance rating for a Grifols site in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
According to a summary of the report on Health Canada’s website, the validation, calibration, cleaning, or maintenance of critical equipment, and the records of staff qualifications, training or evaluation of their competency “were not always sufficient.”
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Health Canada has issued six notices of non-compliance ratings for Grifols clinics in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba since 2022. An inspection remains ongoing at a clinic in Etobicoke, Ont.
Some advocates have been calling for the end of paid plasma donations since the deaths of two people who donated plasma at the Winnipeg clinic.
A representative for the family of one of the people who died told Global News an autopsy report determined the donor had an enlarged heart and the donation put profound stress on it, ultimately leading to her death.
Health Canada said there were no links between the two deaths and the donation process.
Grifols said in a statement Thursday that donor safety and the safety of plasma collection “has never been compromised.”
A spokesperson for Health Canada said the temporary closure will have no impact on the safety and security of Canada’s blood supply and the federal agency will “continue to work collaboratively with Grifols to ensure these concerns are addressed before any plasma collection sites can be reopened.”
Grifols said it is “fully at the disposal” of Health Canada and that it commits to an “open, transparent and collaborative dialogue with the regulator.”
–with files from The Canadian Press
Two deaths should never be minimized or dismissed, but this raises an important question: why are far more deaths associated with prescription drugs not being investigated or brought to public attention? Much of this occurs within a for\-profit Big Pharma system\.
Why is Vanessa’s Law not being consistently enforced, and why are hospitals not being held accountable for reporting adverse drug reactions as required?
Compliance is treated as critical when it involves Grifols, yet in other areas of healthcare—where medications can cause serious harm and affect far more patients—it appears to be optional\.
If the law exists to protect patients and advance public safety, it must be applied consistently across the healthcare system\. The issue is not whether compliance matters, but why it is enforced in some cases and not in others?
Those who are calling for the end to paid plasma donations are incredibly short sighted. Expecting someone to donate twice a week with no honorarium is unrealistic.
Private healthcare is only filling the gaps that our “free” public healthcare can’t fill. And people aren’t selling their plasma because its fun. They have no other means. Canadians ARE being exploited. By bloated and greedy bureaucratic healthcare systems that have no ability to fix themselves.
Banning might make it feel like we are doing something, but it fixes nothing. It only hurts Canadians.
Two deaths from a private company.
With the government run blood donation system, multi-year summaries: ~66 total reported deaths in 2020–2024. Funny how the media never mentions things like that.
We have known that for profit plasma collection was dangerous, expensive and exploitive for decades.
Health Canada is just upset someone is muscling in on their rackets
Wow disappointed to hear as I feel I am in need for this service almost 3 yrs. Into my Cohn’s + Colitis Flare.
I’m a donor.The Grifols location where I go truly sets the standard for medical excellence. Their professional staff and screening system makes it clear that donor safety and the integrity of the plasma supply are top priorities. Interestingly enough, i do not have a family doctor. Since I started donating in May of this year, I have lost much needed weight and my blood pressure is the lowest it has been in 15 years.
When will Health Canada stand behind Canadians and ban all private health care? That is one of the pillars of our health care system, that is totally different from the US. We do not want people paid to donate blood, or have to be out of pocket to receive blood.
I was using it to supplement my income, needed to because some emergencies have come up in my life… it was taking the stress off, financially starting to make some tiny headway on my debts. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. Honestly, wish I would have discovered it sooner as to have had better savings for the emergencies in the 1st place.
How long is this pause going to be?
I suspect we will be seeing many more stories like these after the clot-shot…
Family members seems like want’s to get profit from their death 🤦🏽, the patient should know about their own health