Manitoba medical examiner echoes Health Canada’s probe into deaths of plasma donors
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WINNIPEG – An initial investigation into the deaths of two people who died after donating plasma at a Winnipeg facility has found no links between the two events, the office of Manitoba’s chief medical examiner said Wednesday.
The office completed an autopsy on one of the individuals who donated plasma at a location run by Grifols, a private collection company that pays donors.
“I can confirm that an autopsy has been completed in one of the deaths. The second case was thoroughly investigated and determined not to require an autopsy based on the established cause and manner of death,” executive director Stephanie Holfeld said in an email.
Health Canada confirmed last month it was doing its own probe after being notified of the deaths. It said the deaths happened in October and January following plasma donations at two locations run by Grifols.
That assessment has been completed and the agency said, based off of all information available, no linkage has been established between the plasma donation process and the deaths of the donors, and that further questions on the causes of death should be directed to the provincial medical examiner.
The medical examiner’s office is tasked with examining all sudden, unexpected or violent deaths in Manitoba. It said due to confidentiality reasons, it would not be releasing specific details on the causes of death, but that there is nothing to suggest the two events are related.
“Our investigations did not identify anything that was inconsistent with the findings of the Health Canada report,” said Holfeld.
Grifols has said it followed protocols in both cases and was conducting its own review.
Plasma collection in Canada is regulated by Health Canada to ensure safety and quality. The agency said all licensed collection sites must meet strict federal standards and undergo routine inspections.
Spokesperson Mark Johnson said Health Canada initiated on-site visits at two different Grifols sites in Winnipeg after receiving reports of the deaths. Workers found areas of non-compliance and requested corrective actions from the company.
The agency identified quality management issues and also completed an inspection of Grifols head office to review its system at a national level.
“The observations are not considered critical, and there is no evidence that plasma safety or quality was affected,” Johnson said in an email earlier this week.
Health Canada also directed Grifols to reduce the number of appointments for staff can fully follow procedures and strengthen its quality checks so the company can identify and address issues quickly.
The province has faced calls to enact a provincial ban on paid plasma donations, but a decision has not been made.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.