Advocates want inquest into plasma donation deaths in Winnipeg

CTV’s Jeff Keele has the latest after two people died in separate incidents after donating plasma for money in Winnipeg.

A health advocacy group is calling for an independent inquest into two reported deaths at for-profit plasma donation centres in Manitoba.

The Manitoba Health Coalition made the request during a news conference Friday, calling the deaths “disturbing.”

“We want as independent and fulsome an investigation as possible for the loved ones of these Manitobans who died to get real answers and so that harm like this doesn’t happen in the future,” said Noah Schulz, provincial director with the Manitoba Health Coalition.

Health Canada confirmed two deaths took place following donations at two Grifols centres in Winnipeg in the past several months. One death took place following a donation at the Taylor Avenue location on Oct. 25, 2025, and another took place on Jan. 30, 2026, following a donation at the Innovation Drive location.

Grifols has reported the deaths to Health Canada, which is reviewing the circumstances and is conducting an internal investigation.

The coalition is also calling on the province to ban for-profit plasma donations in Manitoba.

“We don’t want paid plasma within Canada because of the risks to our blood supply, the safety and integrity of it, and crucially, the way in which paying people for plasma preys on more vulnerable populations who are going to donate more frequently because there is that strong financial incentive to do so,” Schulz said. “These are folks who are likely to have more adverse reactions or complications.”

During a news conference Thursday, Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said a ban is on the table, depending on the results of Health Canada’s investigation.

Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec have banned payment for plasma donations.

‘Plasma donating is safe’: Hematologist

Dr. Ryan Zarychanski said severe adverse complications from donating plasma are extremely rare.

He’s never heard of anyone dying from a donation like this before.

“It really does evoke a sense of concern that we will have to understand,” said Zarychanski, who is a hematologist and professor at both the University of Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba.

“It’s most unusual to have two deaths in a short amount of time, and is further a cause for evaluation.”

Dr. Zarychanski said there are a lot of questions about how this happened but says plasma donation is a safe procedure.

“There are probably like 50 million plasma donations done in the United States every year, and reports of death are so rare, they are even hard to quantify,” he said.

“We need to know more about what went on in Winnipeg here.”

-With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele, Alex Karpa and Kayla Rosen