15,000 Petition Signatures Presented to Minister Hoffman to Ban Sale of Plasma in Alberta
Today at the steps of the Alberta Legislature, Alberta Minister of Health Sarah Hoffman was presented with a SumOfUs petition with over 15,000 signatures calling on provincial Health Ministers to "implement legislation that ensures no for-profit, donor-paid blood plasma collection clinics are allowed to operate in Canada."
The petition was presented by Friends of Medicare Executive Director Sandra Azocar, BloodWatch.org Executive Director Kat Lanteigne and CUPE Alberta President Marle Roberts.
"We have been touring across Alberta to talk about the issues around the sale of plasma to for-profit companies like Canadian Plasma Resources and there is a consensus from our meetings that we should not allow this to happen in our province," said Sandra Azocar.
"It's important to remember that Canadian Plasma Resources did not seek permission from the Ontario government to set up shop there. CPR had been collecting plasma without provincial approval and it was through legislation the province was able to stop their operations. We are very thankful for the attention of Minister Hoffman on this issue and we really hope to hear a commitment to action," said Kat Lanteigne.
"As representatives of Canadian Blood Services staff, we at CUPE Alberta support voluntary plasma collection. Our members are proud of their work, and thankful to the MLAs and Minister Hoffman who have been listening on this issue. We want to see Alberta take leadership and be the first western province to ban the sale of plasma to support our voluntary system," said Marle Roberts.
"Private blood brokering encourages corporate profiteering from the most vulnerable Canadians, and doesn't improve our public system. This kind of private interference with our blood system caused tragic consequences during the tainted blood scandal, and we need to make sure we don't go down that path again. That's why thousands of Canadians are standing up and saying no to these new for-profit plasma collection clinics. " Rosa Kouri, Campaigns Director SumOfUs.Org