By The Canadian Press
A bag of blood plasma is pictured at blood bank in La Paz, Bolivia, on Friday, June 12, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Juan Karita)
A for-profit company that oversees plasma collection says it is working with Health Canada on a reopening plan after the federal health agency suspended one its operating licences for a clinic in Winnipeg.
Health Canada halted all collections at Grifols’ Taylor Avenue location on Wednesday after it found compliance problems at the privately run clinic that pays for plasma donations.
Grifols already suspended donation collections at all of its sites last month following reports of two people dying after donating at two separate Winnipeg locations.
A Health Canada investigation found no link between the deaths of the plasma donors and the collection process, and Grifols says at no point was the safety of donors and patients compromised.
Grifols says despite being the majority owner of the Taylor Avenue location, the company was limited on its ability to direct operations at the centre.
It did not elaborate on what limitations it faced, instead citing that the governance structure and contractual arrangements impacted Grifols’ ability to control the operations.
The company acquired full ownership of the Taylor Avenue centre at the beginning of this month, Grifols said in a followup statement.
The company said it’s been conducting a review since it voluntarily suspended operations, including retraining staff and strengthening its procedures and quality systems.
“We have already implemented corrective and preventive measures and will continue working closely with Health Canada to demonstrate their effectiveness and support ongoing compliance at the Taylor Avenue location and across all our centres,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
