By Marco Vigliotti. Published on Mar 21, 2019 3:46pm
Establishing more for-profit plasma collection facilities will not offer long-term assurances that supply will keep pace with the needs of Canadians, or that the plasma collected will stay in the country.
That’s the message Canadian Blood Services (CBS) CEO Dr. Graham Sher took to the Senate social affairs committee Thursday as it continued its study of Saskatchewan Sen. Pamela Wallin’s Bill S-252, which would ban compensation for blood donations, including plasma, the protein-rich liquid found in blood that helps with circulation.
Canada’s four most populous provinces have already banned for-profit plasma donations, though private collections facilities have recently sprung up in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. CBS and Héma-Québec, the non-profit agencies responsible for blood donations in Canada, only use volunteer donors.
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