Health Canada suspends plasma collection at Grifols Taylor Avenue clinic

Health Canada has suspended all plasma collection at Grifols’ Taylor Avenue facility while the private company continues to face scrutiny after two people died following donations at its Winnipeg clinics.

The suspension began Wednesday, although Grifols paused plasma collection in Canada on Aug. 14, two days after the federal department gave the Taylor Avenue site a non-compliant rating.

“Health Canada issued the suspension because Grifols had not effectively implemented some corrective and preventive actions and, overall, it failed to demonstrate that the Taylor Avenue site has implemented an effective quality management system,” the department said in a statement.

The penalty was first proposed Aug. 13. The site’s operating licence was partially suspended, Grifols said in a statement.

The Spain-based company said it is working closely with the department on a reopening plan “with the shared objective of ensuring a safe, sustainable and self-sufficient plasma supply for Canada patients while maintaining the highest standards of donor and patient safety.”

Without getting into specifics, the statement said Grifols has taken corrective and preventive measures, and it has retrained staff during an “exhaustive” review of its Canadian centres.

“Importantly, at no point has the safety of donors, patients or the quality and safety of plasma collected at the Taylor Avenue centre, or any of our other Canadian centres been compromised,” Grifols said.

University student Rodiyat Alabede, 22, died in October 2025 after donating plasma at the for-profit clinic at Taylor Avenue and Pembina Highway. A second person died in January after making a donation at Grifols’ Innovation Drive clinic.

Katherine Lanteigne, an advocate for Alabede’s family, said a temporary suspension of the Taylor Avenue clinic isn’t enough.

“Justice will not be served for Ms. Alabede and blood donors in Canada will not be safe if leadership at Grifols are not held accountable for their egregious safety violations,” she said in a statement, which called for separate investigations by MPs and police.

Earlier this year, Health Canada said it found no links between the two deaths and the donation process. Alabede’s family has disputed the conclusion in her case, while demanding the federal regulator reopen the investigation. Grifols, which pays donors, has said protocols were followed in both cases.

Health Canada found the plasmapheresis machine extracting Alabede’s plasma had showed an alert that should have prompted staff to end the donation, which they failed to do, according to documents. Alabede collapsed about 45 minutes into plasmapheresis.

An autopsy found she had a pre-existing heart condition and died of cardiac arrest. Her family doesn’t think she knew she had the condition.

Lanteigne on Wednesday called on Health Minister Marjorie Michel to suspend all of Grifols’ operations across Canada and commit to a forensic audit of the company’s activities.

“It is clear that a police investigation must be launched into the activities of Grifols Pharmaceuticals in tandem with an open and transparent parliamentary committee,” Lanteigne said.

The matter is not under criminal investigation by the Winnipeg Police Service at this time, spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said.

Noah Schulz, provincial director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, welcomed the suspension, but said it was too late.

“They have these chronic non-compliance issues and they don’t correct the problems that Health Canada has documented,” he said of Grifols.

The coalition has advocated for Canada’s blood and plasma collection system to be “fully voluntary and fully public.”

Schulz wants the Manitoba government to pass legislation to prohibit for-profit collection. B.C., Ontario and Quebec have done so.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Manitoba expects Grifols to fully address the deficiencies before any collection activities resume.

“We have said from the beginning that all options remain on the table when it comes to how paid plasma collection operates in our province,” Asagwara said in a statement.

“This latest development will be part of that consideration. Our focus is making sure any decisions we make are informed by the evidence, protect donors and maintain access to the plasma-derived medicines patients rely on.”

Health Canada said deficiencies were detected following an initial compliance verification inspection at the Taylor Avenue clinic Nov. 20, 2025, less than a month after Alabede died.

A Dec. 22 letter written by a federal inspector in December raised concerns about staff training, record-keeping and how some employees reacted to plasma collection machine alerts or alarms.

An unannounced inspection occurred June 23. After additional compliance checks, the department informed Grifols July 13 that several conditions were not satisfied. The regulator warned a suspension was possible if deficiencies weren’t corrected.

Grifols assumed full ownership of its Canadian operations Sept. 1. The company said its ability to direct operations was limited when it was the majority shareholder of Canada Plasma.

Grifols said it accelerated its acquisition of Canada Plasma, after deficiencies at several donation centres were identified, in order to “fully manage” the business, strengthen operational oversight and implement quality, safety and compliance standards that are in place at its donation centres in other countries.

When the pause began Aug. 14, Grifols said the move was proactive and voluntary amid “unfounded attention that has been focused on compensated plasma collection.”

Health Canada said terms and conditions imposed on Grifols’ licence for all 16 of its plasma collection sites in Canada remain in place.

The department defended the safety of Canada’s blood and plasma collection systems. It said it will continue to work with Grifols as the company “seeks to resume activities and implement corrective action plans.”

“Prior to resuming operations, Health Canada will verify Grifols’ compliance with our regulatory requirements and we will not hesitate to take further action if needed,” the department said.

Grifols collects plasma to make plasma-derived therapies for patients. The plasma is not used directly for transfusion into patients, Health Canada noted.

Grifols and the Canadian Blood Services, which does not pay donors, signed a 15-year contract in 2022.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca