Grifols restarts plasma collection, but a suspended Winnipeg licence stays shut and other sites stay under conditions
Grifols is resuming operations at its Canadian clinics after temporarily shutting down all paid plasma collection in mid-August amid public scrutiny. The for-profit company said in a news release Tuesday that it is beginning a phased-in resumption of collection activities at its 17 centres, starting immediately with two locations — one on Innovation Drive in Winnipeg and one on Currents Drive in Edmonton.
Health Canada, which confirmed the two reopenings, says the licence for the company's Taylor Avenue site in Winnipeg remains suspended, and the terms and conditions imposed on the licence for Grifols' 16 other plasma collection sites stay in place until the agency is satisfied that sustained compliance has been demonstrated.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
Restarting two centres is not the same as a clean bill of health. One licence is still suspended, and the other sixteen sites are operating under conditions that only lift when the regulator decides compliance is being sustained, not when the company announces it.
It is also a deliberately narrow restart: two named locations rather than the whole 17-site network at once. And Canadian Blood Services described the steps Grifols has taken to strengthen its processes as prudent and effective, which is at least one outside voice not named Grifols saying so.