Keep your blood money out of Ontario—why paid plasma donation is unethical

Violetta Zeitlinger Fontana │ March 8, 2024 │ Editorials, Signed Editorials

Image by: Joseph Mariathasan

Despite its potential for positive change, paid plasma donation has negative ethical implications.

In 2022, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) announced a partnership with a private Spanish firm called Grifols to open plasma collection centres in Canada. Grifols pays its donors, and currently has one operational Canadian location, in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba.

In Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, it’s a federal offence to pay people to donate plasma—this restriction is set out by each province’s Voluntary Blood Donations Act. While CBS is exempt from this rule in exceptional circumstances, it currently operates on an entirely voluntary basis in these provinces. Yet Grifols plans to open its first Ontario location this year, with a total of 15 Canadian centres by the end of 2025.

This move into Ontario is worrisome as it could undermine the current voluntary nature of Canada’s existing donation system. As paid plasma donation centres become more widespread, donors will migrate away from voluntary systems toward compensation.

Some plasma is frozen and transfused directly to patients with major traumatic injuries or undergoing surgery. However, the majority goes towards creating plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) such as immunoglobulins or coagulation factors, which are used to treat various conditions, including immune deficiencies and bleeding disorders. Canada’s plasma supply only satisfies about 13 to 14 per cent of its immunoglobulin needs.

Read more at The Queen’s Journal