Grifols Halts Plasma Collection at All 17 Canadian Clinics After Non-Compliance Notice, Two Donor Deaths

Grifols is shutting down every one of its 17 plasma collection clinics in Canada starting Friday, August 14, 2026. The Spanish healthcare company made the call one day after Health Canada issued it a formal notice of non-compliance for failing to follow blood regulations, according to a senior official who spoke to the Globe and Mail.

Grifols says this was voluntary. The company's statement calls it a response to "unfounded attention" on its practices, and says it wants to work with Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services on "the framework needed to support the continued development of a sustainable and robust plasma collection network in Canada."

That framing should be read against the actual record. Health Canada has issued six notices of non-compliance for Grifols clinics across New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba since 2022, according to Global News. An inspection is still ongoing at a clinic in Etobicoke, Ontario. In April, the agency imposed new terms and conditions on Grifols' licenses because of what it called "recurring, systemic deficiencies across several sites," the Globe and Mail reported.

Two deaths, no established link

The scrutiny intensified after two donors died following plasma donations at separate Grifols locations in Winnipeg. Rodiyat Alabede, a 22-year-old international student and aspiring social worker, died on October 25, 2025, after donating at the company's Taylor Avenue site, according to the Guardian. A second donor died January 30, 2026, after donating at Grifols' Innovation Drive clinic. Neither death was made public until media reported on them in March 2026.

Health Canada says its investigation found no link between the deaths and the plasma donation process, and the Manitoba chief medical examiner reached the same conclusion, according to Medindia. An autopsy found Alabede died of cardiac arrest. A representative for her family told Global News the autopsy determined she had an enlarged heart and that the donation put "profound stress" on it, contributing to her death.

The official finding is no causal link, but the family's own account of the autopsy findings suggests something closer to a contributing factor. Patient advocate Kat Lanteigne, who represents Alabede's family, has alleged "significant medical discrepancies" between the autopsy and Health Canada's later medical summary, and has called for a new inquest, according to the Guardian. Health Canada has not reopened the case.

What inspectors actually found

The inspection record on Grifols' operations is clear from documented findings. A Health Canada inspection report released publicly Thursday detailed an unannounced June 23 inspection at the Taylor Avenue site that found improper record-keeping, insufficient maintenance of critical equipment, and inaccurate assessment of donor suitability, according to the Globe and Mail.

CBC News reported that the same inspection summary said the Winnipeg clinic "did not carry out sufficient corrective and preventive actions when required" and that standard operating procedures were not always followed. Records of "staff qualifications, training or evaluation of their competency" were also insufficient, per the report.

Earlier Health Canada inspections found staff did not stop plasma collection when equipment alarms went off, and described the company's own incident reporting as "incomplete" and "inaccurate," according to the Guardian. CBC also reported that Health Canada data show 25 serious adverse reactions have been logged at centres currently operated by Grifols since 2018.

The case for shutting it down, and the case against

Noah Schulz, provincial director of the Manitoba Health Coalition, has pushed for an outright end to paid plasma donation in Canada. "While it's just a pause, I still think it's a really big win for patient safety, for the blood supply safety," Schulz told the Canadian Press. He argues the for-profit model creates an incentive to keep clinics running even when safety protocols slip, and that vulnerable, cash-strapped donors are the ones exposed to that risk.

Plasma-derived medicines, including immunoglobulin and albumin treatments, are used by patients with rare and chronic conditions who depend on a stable supply chain. Grifols is currently the only major commercial plasma collector in the country, and a permanent shutdown would remove capacity Canada has been counting on to reduce its dependence on imported plasma. Patients on those therapies have a legitimate stake in this not becoming a prolonged supply disruption, whatever the ultimate verdict on Grifols' practices.

Health Canada spokesperson Emilie Gauduchon-Campbell said the agency "will continue to work collaboratively with Grifols to ensure these concerns are addressed before any plasma collection sites can be reopened," and stressed the pause will not affect the safety of Canada's overall blood supply, since Grifols operates separately from Canadian Blood Services' own donation network.

Grifols paid donors up to C$100 per donation, twice weekly. No timeline has been set for when, or whether, any of the 17 sites will reopen. Health Canada has not announced an investigation into criminal wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed against the company. The question facing regulators is whether the "framework" Grifols says it wants to build produces real fixes to the deficiencies inspectors have documented since 2022, or just a shorter pause before the same problems resurface.