The tragic death of a 22-year-old international student following a plasma donation at a private Winnipeg clinic has ignited growing concerns over Canada’s paid plasma collection industry and renewed calls for a federal investigation into the practices of Grifols, which operates plasma donation centres across the country, including two locations in Toronto.
Rodiyat Alabede died on Oct. 25, 2025, shortly after donating plasma at a Grifols-operated clinic in Winnipeg. According to a spokesperson representing her family, an autopsy later determined that Alabede suffered a sudden cardiac arrest caused by “dilated cardiomegaly,” a condition involving an enlarged heart.
Family advocate Kat Lanteigne said the family believes Alabede was unaware she had the underlying heart condition and argues that she should never have been permitted to donate plasma in the first place.
The case has now intensified scrutiny over donor screening procedures, emergency response protocols, and staff training at Grifols clinics nationwide. While both Health Canada and Grifols have stated they do not currently believe there is a direct connection between the plasma donation procedure and Alabede’s death, critics argue that federal investigators failed to fully examine whether operational errors or inadequate medical screening may have contributed to the tragedy.
Lanteigne alleges that several “clinical events” occurring during the donation process may have placed dangerous stress on Alabede’s heart. She said the family is demanding that Health Canada reopen its investigation and immediately suspend Grifols’ operating licence pending an independent inquiry.
Questions surrounding the clinic’s screening procedures have become even more serious following recent Health Canada inspection reports, which documented multiple deficiencies at Grifols facilities across Canada. Earlier this year, the federal regulator imposed special conditions on the company’s licence after identifying what it described as “recurring, systemic deficiencies” within its operations.
Inspection findings at the Winnipeg clinic where Alabede donated plasma reportedly raised significant concerns about staff training, emergency preparedness, and equipment handling. Health Canada inspectors found instances of improperly assembled tubing on plasma collection machines and concluded that some employees lacked sufficient knowledge to properly respond to machine alerts, alarms, and adverse donor reactions.
Inspectors also found inconsistencies in the company’s supervisory structure. Although Grifols’ internal procedures require staff to notify supervisors during emergencies, Health Canada reportedly discovered that no formal supervisor role existed within the clinic’s organizational structure at the time of inspection.
Additional concerns were raised over staff competency testing procedures, with reports indicating employees were allowed multiple opportunities to retake knowledge assessments using identical questions.
The scrutiny extends beyond Winnipeg. Grifols currently operates more than a dozen paid plasma clinics across Canada, including facilities in Etobicoke and North York. Although Toronto’s clinics have not yet been inspected since opening last year, other Ontario locations in Hamilton and Whitby have faced criticism from inspectors over inadequate training systems, equipment maintenance concerns, and failures to properly monitor expiry dates of critical medical supplies.
According to federal inspection records, Grifols has received five non-compliant inspection findings since beginning Canadian operations — reportedly more than all other licensed blood and plasma collection organizations in Canada combined over the past decade.
Under Canadian regulations, Health Canada has the authority to suspend or revoke licences if a company demonstrates an inability to consistently comply with national safety standards. However, no such action has yet been taken against Grifols.
Lanteigne is also raising concerns about discrepancies in official records related to Alabede’s plasma donation. She claims Health Canada’s documentation indicates a substantially larger amount of plasma was removed from the student’s body compared to the amount listed in the autopsy report, raising further questions about whether procedures were correctly followed on the day of her death.
The case has now become part of a broader national debate over the ethics and safety of Canada’s growing for-profit plasma industry, particularly as international