Health Canada slaps new conditions on plasma donation company Grifols, still reviewing 2 Winnipeg deaths

Health Canada has slapped new terms and conditions on all of a company’s paid plasma centres after multiple failed inspections where the regulator found “recurring, systemic deficiencies.”

This comes after two people died in Winnipeg less than four months apart after giving their plasma at different Grifols locations in the city.

It also comes after the company’s Canadian head office in Oakville, Ont., failed its January inspection. The head office doesn’t collect plasma, but the federal health regulator said it oversees all 16 Canadian collection sites.

On Wednesday, a Health Canada spokesperson said they conducted a virtual inspection of the head office. The inspection found Grifols wasn’t accurately assessing a donor’s suitability, did not thoroughly investigate errors and accidents, and didn’t have enough properly trained staff members. 

The inspection also found operating procedures were not always followed and that Grifols was allowing people to give plasma even when information shows “the safety of blood could be affected.”

Grifols, a Spanish-based company that specializes in producing plasma medicines, has more than a dozen plasma collection centres in Canada.

These new conditions apply to all 16 collection centres in Canada:

• Reducing the number of appointments so staff can fully follow procedures.
• Reassessing the number of fully trained personnel required for positions.
• Ensuring the quality assurance department reviews completed and documented donor suitability records.
• Reviewing donor files before updating donor eligibility.
• Implementing additional oversight for newer staff.
• Conducting an internal annual audit of all regulated activities, ensuring any deficiencies identified are documented and investigated, and submitting the audit to Health Canada.

Grifols did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Health Canada said the conditions will remain in place until Grifols shows “sustained compliance” with blood regulations at all licensed sites.

The spokesperson said it “identified quality management issues” during the head office inspection, which began Jan. 28.

“Health Canada had prioritized an inspection of the Grifols head office to review its quality management system at a national level since the department had identified quality management system observations at multiple Grifols sites during routine inspections,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

The two Winnipeg deaths are still under review by Health Canada, which confirmed it received two reports of fatal adverse reactions in plasma donors — one in October 2025 and another on Jan. 30, 2026. 

One of those people was 22-year-old Rodiyat Alabede. The international student from Nigeria died on Oct. 25 after friends say she gave plasma at the Grifols location on Taylor Avenue. 

Little is known about the second person, whose death was reported as a fatal reaction after a donation at the Grifols location on Innovation Drive.

Health Canada says no link has been found between the deaths and plasma collection.

Two other recent Grifols inspections resulted in non-compliant ratings in Calgary and Regina. 

The Health Canada spokesperson said Thursday that it has required “corrective actions” from Grifols and “will continue to closely monitor progress” of their implementation.

The spokesperson wrote that the identified issues are not “considered critical.”