Two people died in Canada after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has come under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain their machines.
While experts say deaths are extremely 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 clinics of “fatal adverse reactions” after plasma donations in October 2025 and January 2026.
The deaths occurred in facilities operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. In both cases, the two donors suffered “distress” while donating, people familiar with the cases told The Guardian.
Health Canada said its investigations were continuing.
Grifols said in a statement that it had “no reason to believe that there is a correlation between the death of donors and plasma donation.”
CBC News was the first to report on 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 hemophilia and to help treat burn victims. But in recent years, Canada has faced strong opposition over the extent to which Grifols, which operates 17 facilities in the country, has become entangled in the world of blood plasma collection.
Canada’s health agency did not release 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 Oct. 25.
“Rody aspired to become a social worker and dedicate her life to helping others, a dream she was very close to achieving,” her 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 dedicated 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 plasma collection centers after each reported death and records indicated standard operating procedures were being followed.
Canadian Blood Services said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and was monitoring the health of donors and following “the highest safety standards to safeguard both those who donate at our centers and the patients who receive blood products.”
Provincial health agencies were only recently notified of the deaths, even though the first occurred almost six months ago.
Grifols stated: “Each donor undergoes a thorough medical history evaluation and physical examination before being considered eligible to donate. We strive to operate under strict operating procedures at the highest level.”
According to federal inspection reports, a facility in the neighboring province of Saskatchewan was inspected in January and failed to “accurately assess donor suitability” – one of 11 deficiencies that led inspectors to classify the site as non-compliant with the Canada Food and Drug Act and blood regulations.
Other failures include “validation, calibration, cleaning or maintenance of critical equipment (which) was not always sufficient” and records that “were not always accurate, complete, legible, indelible and/or easily retrievable.”
Another site in Alberta was found to have 10 deficiencies, including record keeping, donor selection and equipment maintenance.
Grifols stated: “A ‘non-compliant’ rating means that the identified operational processes require improvements and we are working hard to address them quickly.” It added that after two recent inspections, it had “submitted detailed action plans to Health Canada and began implementing them immediately with a focus on preventing recurrence and strengthening overall compliance.”
It said its facilities in Calgary and Regina were previously compliant and “continue with normal operations while we implement corrective actions to address the concerns cited.”
Of the eight documented noncompliances in blood tests, dating back to 2016, facilities operated by Grifols accounted for half of all cases.
A Health Canada inspector, who asked not to be named, told The Guardian he felt the reports of non-compliance were “very concerning” 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 heard about a second death, in the same city, alarm bells started ringing.”
One of the Winnipeg facilities where a donor died in January, owned by Grifols, is the subject of a lawsuit after a donor said the facility used a defective machine that damaged his blood, causing “irreversible and permanent” injuries to his kidney.
Craig Loney, an aircraft maintenance technician, said he experienced severe pain and blood in his urine after using a machine that separates plasma from red blood cells. He later received an email from the company that operated the facility, informing him that a “machine error” caused some red blood cells removed during the procedure to “break up” and erroneously return to his body along with the plasma.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Grifols asked a judge to dismiss the case and said in a court filing that the donor was “fully informed of the risks” of the procedure and accepted the possible side effects.
Questions about the structure of how Canadians donate blood and plasma are set in the context of a national scandal when thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Two of Brandell’s uncles were infected through contaminated blood products.
“The Canadian Red Cross knew they were sending contaminated blood, but they assumed that anyone who needed blood needed it to save lives,” he said. “The Red Cross told themselves that if people knew, there would be chaos and distrust in the system. So they just kept it a secret.”
Subsequently, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Canada’s Blood System 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, which means it must buy its supply abroad, usually in the United States. Grifols has for decades been one of Canada’s leading 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 plasma donations, but under a 2022 agreement in Ontario, Grifols operates as an “agent” for Canadian Blood Services, meaning it can actually circumvent the ban.
Grifols pays up to 100 Canadian dollars (£55) for each donation, with donations allowed twice a week. Those who donate most frequently are enrolled in the company’s “superhero rewards” program and can receive cash prizes and bonuses of C$50 for every 10 donations made within six weeks.
Documented concerns about the company’s problems with record-keeping and machinery cleanliness are reminiscent of Canada’s tainted blood scandal, Brandell argued.
He said the “absolutely tragic” deaths were a wake-up call, adding that Canadian Blood Services had promised advocates that “solid guardrails” were in place.
“My concern was that once a private company enters Canada, you lose control over much of the industry. I’m afraid the first thing we’re losing is public accountability and oversight. We were promised transparency. That’s not what we’re getting.”
