At today’s press conference, Friends of Medicare’s executive director, Chris Gallaway said the following:
“In light of two tragic deaths of individuals who sold their blood plasma at Grifols collection centres, and serious ongoing safety concerns at for-profit centres which have been found non-compliant with regulations—including here in Calgary—why are these sites allowed to continue operating, and profiting from the buying and selling of Canadians’ plasma? We have public solutions to collect blood and plasma safely and voluntarily, we don’t need to be continuing down this for-profit road. It’s time to put public safety first and bring plasma collection back under our public system.”
Friends of Medicare's joint press release with the Canadian Health Coalition, the Ontario Health Coalition, and the Manitoba Health Coalition is below:
Ottawa — Health coalitions from across Canada are demanding that Health Canada, Canadian Blood Services and provincial governments take immediate action to end Grifols’ authorization to collect plasma in Canada and to disclose the Canadian Blood Services contract with Grifols. They also want provinces to prohibit paid and for-profit blood products collection.
Grifols has operated for-profit paid plasma centres in Canada in 3.5 years. In that time, Grifols facilities have been found non-compliant more times than all other blood products collection centres in Canada combined in the last fourteen years. Deaths related to plasma collection are extremely rare. The deaths at Grifols' facilities in Canada, combined with the gravity and frequency of their non-compliance issues, demonstrate a need for immediate action.
“Grifols failed to fully answer questions, or take responsibility for what happened to these three people. The logical response to this is to shut down their operations and give plasma management back to the nonprofit and regulated public sector,” says Noah Schulz of the Manitoba Health Coalition. “Private for profit pay-for-plasma should not be allowed in Manitoba or Canada.”
Testimony of Mary Hughes, Vice President for Sales of Grifols, left more questions than answers on Thursday, March 26 when she was forced to testify before the Standing Committee on Health Committee, after initially declining to appear.
“Grifols footdragged and showed lack of transparency about procedures when questioned by elected representatives and lawmakers,” says Siobhán Vipond, Vice Chairperson of the Canadian Health Coalition. “The families of the dead and injured deserve better. Those who are already struggling, and sell their plasma because they need money should not be putting their lives at risk.”
After Hughes’ testimony, health committee members unanimously passed a motion ordering Canadian Blood Services, the public non-profit blood agency that contracted with Grifols in 2022, to hand over its secret exclusive 15-year contract with Grifols no later than April 10.
In summary, health coalitions are demanding:
- Health Canada, Canadian Blood Services and provincial governments take immediate action to end Grifols' authorization to collect plasma in Canada. Health Canada must end any licensing or equivalent approvals for Grifols to collect plasma.
- Provincial governments that have allowed Grifols to set up for-profit plasma centres prohibit paid and for-profit blood products collection.
- Health Canada release detailed inspection reports, including adverse events, and provide public information on whether all Grifols centres have been inspected since they started operation.
- A judicial inquiry into the tragic deaths in Winnipeg, Manitoba which would result in an investigation independent of Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services.
- Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services disclose the frequency with which Grifols was harvesting paid plasma from the people who have died.
- Canadian Blood Services and Grifols comply with the directive of the Standing Committee on Health and disclose the contract CBS with Grifols, the terms of which have been kept secret to date, and end the contract.
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