National Post: Counterpoint: Protect our domestic supply by shutting down the paid-plasma industry

Posted on: May 21st, 2020 by webmaster

May 11, 2020
10:03 AM EDT

It is indefensible to use the tragedy of the pandemic, when thousands of Canadian lives are being lost, to peddle a private plasma collection model in Canada that has already been exposed as a sham.

In a recent op-ed, Kate Vander Meer and Peter Jaworski argued that experimental COVID-19 therapies derived from convalescent plasma will put further strain on our domestic blood plasma supply, so provincial governments should repeal laws that prevent private companies from collecting it from paid donors. Yet it is indefensible to use the tragedy of the pandemic, when thousands of Canadian lives are being lost, to peddle a private plasma collection model in Canada that has already been exposed as a sham. Their solution would only serve to create a competitive market for blood products, pitting private collectors against Canadian Blood Services.

Read the full article here.