Nickel Belt MPP France G\u00e9linas says Health Canada has found \u2018serious infractions\u2019 with the way the plasma collection firm operates<\/p>\n
Pointing to serious infractions with its operations, NDP MPPs Dr. Robin Lennox and France G\u00e9linas are calling for the closure of for-profit plasma collection centres operated in Ontario by the firm Grifols.<\/p>\n
Lennox, the NDP\u2019s shadow minister for mental health and addictions with responsibility for primary care, and G\u00e9linas, the party\u2019s shadow minister for health, were echoed in that call by Kat Lanteigne, former executive director and co-founder of BloodWatch.org<\/a>, and Natalie Merha, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cHealth Canada has identified serious infractions at the Grifols\u2019 facilities,\u201d G\u00e9linas said in a news release. \u201cAny health-care facility that has such poor compliance should be shut down. If the government of Ontario has any interest in protecting Ontarians from harm, they should use the Voluntary Blood donations act to shut these clinics down now.\u201d<\/p>\n A March report by CBC<\/a> highlights how three people have died after selling their plasma at a for-profit collection centre in Winnipeg operated by the firm Grifols. Another patient of the same facility brought a lawsuit against Grifols last year alleging “non-reversible and permanent injuries” from the acute kidney injury caused by an equipment malfunction at the same site, a press release last month from G\u00e9linas\u2019 office states.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results of Health Canada\u2019s investigation are sending a wave of uncertainty into the plasma collection system; it discourages people from making plasma donation,\u201d the Nickel Belt MPP said in the release.<\/p>\n In March, a release from G\u00e9linas contends a 2022 partnership between Canadian Blood Services (CBS) and Grifols \u201ccreated a loophole\u201d that allowed the Spanish company to pay donors in Ontario for their plasma.<\/p>\n As reported by Toronto Today, facing a shortage of blood plasma donations spurred by the pandemic, Canadian Blood Services \u2014 which has an exemption to the paid plasma ban \u2014 entered into an agreement with Grifols in 2022, allowing the company to serve as its \u201cagent\u201d in Canada and face no barrier to paying individuals for their plasma.<\/p>\n But while Canadian Blood Services is permitted by Health Canada to extract plasma from any individual a maximum of 52 times per year, the federal health department agreed in 2019 to double that rate for Grifols \u2014 permitting the company to conduct up to 104 plasma draws per person annually.<\/p>\n This means Grifols\u2019 clients could be paid to sell their plasma multiple times each week, a rate that would not be allowed at Canadian Blood Services\u2019 donation facilities.<\/p>\n A recent meta study found that twice-weekly plasma collection can cause negative health impacts<\/a> for donors, including impacting an individual\u2019s levels of immunoglobulin, an infection-fighting antibody, and potentially leading to iron deficiency.<\/p>\n “Paid plasma programs, like Grifols, are diverting our resources and attention away from what must be our primary focus: ensuring a safe, voluntary, and sustainable domestic supply of plasma to meet the needs of people with autoimmune conditions and blood disorders in Ontario,\u201d Lennox said in the most recent news release.<\/p>\n \u201cThe safety and quality concerns identified at Grifols are an important reminder of why we must redouble our efforts to encourage voluntary plasma donation as an essential public service.”<\/p>\n Last month, Health Canada imposed conditions<\/a> on for-profit plasma collection clinics operated by Grifols<\/a> after the health regulator identified \u201crecurring, systemic deficiencies\u201d at the company\u2019s facilities during inspections.\u201d<\/p>\n