Private plasma donation clinic says it is pausing all collection in Canada

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.”

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.”