Two people die after donating plasma at Canadian clinics under federal investigation

Original article by Leyland Cecco in Toronto

Two people have died in Canada after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has been under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain its machines.

While experts say the deaths are exceedingly rare, critics say Canada’s embrace of private companies to handle blood products reflects a “slow collapse of a system that has been the envy of the world”.

Health Canada, the federal agency that regulates plasma clinics, said it had received reports from the clinics regarding “fatal adverse reactions” after plasma donations in October 2025 and January 2026.

The deaths occurred at facilities operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. In both cases, the two donors went into “distress” while donating, people familiar with the cases told the Guardian.

Health Canada said its investigations were continuing.

Grifols said in a statement it had “no reason to believe that there is a correlation between the donors’ passing and plasma donation”.

CBC News was the first to report the fatal adverse reactions in plasma donors.

Plasma, the pale yellow liquid part of blood, is used to create medications for a number of conditions, including haemophilia, and to help treat burn victims. But in recent years, Canada has faced stiff pushback over the extent to which Grifols, which operates 17 facilities in the country, has become enmeshed in the world of blood plasma collection.

Canada’s health agency did not disclose the identities of the two donors who died but friends say one was Rodiyat Alabede, 22, an international student who donated plasma in Winnipeg on 25 October.

“Rody aspired to become a social worker, dedicating her life to helping others, a dream she was so close to achieving,” friends wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money to help her family. “Rody was known for her kindness, compassion, and unwavering faith. She was deeply devoted to her dream and always carried herself with grace, warmth, and sincerity.”

Three months later, another person died while donating plasma at a different location in Winnipeg.

Health Canada said there were immediate visits to the plasma collection centres after each reported fatality and records indicated standard operating procedures were being followed.

The Canadian Blood Service said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and that it monitored donor health and followed “the highest safety standards to safeguard both those who donate in our centres and the patients who receive blood products”.

Provincial health agencies were notified only recently about the fatalities, even though the first occurred nearly six months ago.

Grifols said: “Every donor undergoes an extensive health history evaluation and physical examination before being deemed eligible to donate. We strive to operate under strict operational procedures at the highest standard.”

According to federal inspection reports, one facility in the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan was inspected in January and failed to “accurately assess the donor’s suitability” – one of 11 deficiencies that prompted inspectors to rate the site as non-compliant with Canada’s Food and Drugs Act and the blood regulations.

Other failures include “validation, calibration, cleaning, or maintenance of critical equipment [that] were not always sufficient” and records that “were not always accurate, complete, legible, indelible and/or readily retrievable”.

Another site in Alberta was found to have 10 deficiencies, including record keeping, donor screening and equipment maintenance.

Grifols said: “A ‘non-compliant’ rating means that the identified operational processes require improvement and we are working hard to address those swiftly.” It added that after two recent inspections, it had “submitted detailed action plans to Health Canada and began implementation immediately with a focus on preventing recurrence and strengthening overall compliance”.

It said its facilities in Calgary and Regina were previously compliant and “continue normal operations while we implement corrective actions to address the cited concerns”.

Of the eight documented instances of non-compliance for blood inspections, which date back to 2016, facilities operated by Grifols made up half of all cases.

One inspector with Health Canada, who asked not to be named, told the Guardian he felt the non-compliance reports were “very troubling” and believed they reflected a “deeper set of concerns” about the facilities and how they were run.

Curtis Brandell, a blood safety activist who is president of the independent British Columbia chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said: “When I heard about the first death, I thought it must be a mistake. The donation procedure is safe. But when I learned of a second death – in the same city – alarm bells started going off.”

One of the facilities in Winnipeg where a donor died in January, owned by Grifols, is the subject of a lawsuit after a donor said the facility used a faulty machine that damaged his blood, causing “non-reversible and permanent” injuries to his kidney.

Craig Loney, an aircraft maintenance technician, said he experienced intense pain and blood in his urine after using a machine that separates the plasma from the red blood cells. He later received an email from the company operating the facility, informing him that a “machine error” had caused some red blood cells removed during the procedure to be “broken” and erroneously returned into his body along with the plasma.

The allegations have not been tested in court. Grifols has asked a judge to dismiss the case and said in a court filing the donor was “fully informed of the risks” of the procedure and had consented to possible side-effects.

Questions over the structure of how Canadians give blood and plasma are set against the backdrop of a national scandal in which thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV/Aids and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1980s and early 90s.

Two of Brandell’s uncles were infected through contaminated blood products.

“The Canadian Red Cross knew they were sending out contaminated blood but figured anyone who needed blood needed it for life-saving reasons,” he said. “The Red Cross told themselves if people knew, it would lead to pandemonium and distrust of the system. So they just kept it quiet.”

The Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada later made a series of recommendations to ensure the safety of the system. The commission said Canada should aim to be self-sufficient in blood and blood products – but not by creating a commercial donor market, and that a voluntary system was the safest and most ethical model.

Canada does not produce enough plasma for domestic use, meaning it must buy its supply from abroad – most often from the US. For decades, Grifols has been one of Canada’s main suppliers of immunoglobulin, a plasma protein used to treat medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders.

Only three provinces – Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec – have a ban on paid donations for plasma, but under a 2022 agreement in Ontario, Grifols operates as an “agent” for the Canadian Blood Services, meaning it can in effect skirt the ban.

Grifols pays up to C$100 (£55) for each donation, and donations are permitted twice a week. Those who donate more frequently are enrolled in the company’s “super hero rewards” programme and can receive prizes and cash bonuses of C$50 for every 10 donations made within six weeks.

Documented concerns over the company’s problems with record-keeping and cleanliness of machinery were reminiscent of Canada’s tainted blood scandal, argued Brandell.

He said the “absolutely tragic” deaths were a wake-up call and added that advocates had been promised by Canadian Blood Services that there were “robust guardrails” in place.

“My concerns were, once you have a private company coming into Canada, you lose control over much of the industry. I fear the first thing we’re losing is public accountability and oversight. We were promised transparency. That’s not what we’re getting.”