BC Chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society calls upon the BC Government to enact legislation to prevent private companies offering payment for donations of blood and plasma. Asks the Federal Government not to license private plasma collection in Canada as it contravenes The Krever Inquiry recommendations.

VANCOUVER, Feb. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR) has recently opened a clinic in Saskatoon to pay people for their plasma and has announced intentions of expanding into British Columbia. The British Columbia Chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society (BCCHS) wants to ensure that BC continues to enjoy a safe supply of quality blood products and therefore we are calling on Premier Clark and Health Minister Dr. Terry Lake to enact legislation to effectively ban private-for-profit clinics.

Our request in prohibiting such clinics to operate in Canada is in keeping with the recommendations of the The Krever Inquiry, World Health Organization, the International Red Cross, the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations, the International Society of Blood Transfusion, and is already illegal in Quebec and Ontario. After considerable consultations on this issue the Ontario government unanimously passed The Voluntary Donations Act; we are asking for similar legislation to be passed in BC. 

We are a society of patients and families of those who need medications made by plasma to survive and to have a higher quality of life. We have listened to our membership, done extensive investigations into this matter and for three years our board has not wavered on our commitment to stop the commercialization of our voluntary donor system.

We want to be clear and reassure the public that there are no shortages in medications. Allowing private-for-profit clinics in Canada will in no way add to any supply levels for Canadian patients. Plasma collected by CPR will not stay in Canada and will have to be sold internationally for further processing. 

We further call upon Federal Health Minister, Jane Philpott, to put a moratorium on the operating license of CPR until further consultations can occur. A pan-Canadian approach to blood collection is in keeping with Justice Horace Krever's recommendation that we must only have one national operator overseeing all blood and plasma collection. It is the sole responsibility of Canadian Blood Services to collect Canadian blood and plasma and we oppose the introduction of a private competitor into our voluntary system.

SOURCE British Columbia Chapter, Canadian Hemophilia Society

Curtis Brandell, President BCCHS, [email protected] Ph: 604 897-2049