The lives of Canadians will be at risk if for-profit companies that pay people to give blood are allowed to operate, a Medicine Hat audience was told Tuesday night.
Private plasma clinics will not benefit Albertans but will create competition for blood plasma which we will not have access to, says Kat Lanteigne of http://www.BloodWatch.org.
Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), which was banned from operating in Ontario, is now operating in Saskatoon, and is aggressively lobbying to open in Alberta, said Sandra Azocar, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“Canadian Blood Services will not buy any of the product CPR collects, making them an export-only business,” said Azocar. “Canadians won’t benefit, and Albertans have an interest in rejecting a profit driven company that will set up a parallel system in competition with our established voluntary system in the province.”