BloodWatch.org was cofounded by veteran blood advocate & tainted blood survivor Michael McCarthy, tainted blood survivor Andy Cumming & playwright Kat Lanteigne. The three met while Ms. Lanteigne was researching her play, Tainted.
Nine months before Tainted opened, the private plasma clinics “appeared” on the streets in Toronto. Galvanized by the story of the tainted blood crisis, they used the platform of the play as a point of advocacy and launched a public fight to have the private clinics shut down.
In 2014, Mr. Cumming & Mr. McCarthy accompanied a provincial tour of Tainted, where they shared their stories across Ontario and urged the public to support passing The Voluntary Blood Donations Act, which bans the private sale of blood and plasma.
The law was unanimously passed at Queen’s Park in December of 2014.
The fact that the private blood clinics were then approved in Saskatchewan despite almost total opposition across Canada has been devastating to the tainted blood community, patient groups and veteran blood advocates who adamantly oppose privatizing blood collection in Canada.
BloodWatch.org was officially launched in response to the clinics once again appearing—this time in Saskatoon—without any public consultation or support.