Mayors, OPSEU President to speak at April 11 rally to save Thunder Bay plasma center

THUNDER BAY, ON, April 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Two mayors and the President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will be among speakers at a rally tomorrow intended to save the Thunder Bay Plasma Collection Centre.

Date:	April 11, 2012
Time:	Noon
Location:	Canadian Blood Services Plasma Collection Centre 1165 Barton St. Thunder Bay.

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas will join Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs, former Mayor Ken Boshcoff and other speakers.

The Thunder Bay plasma collection facility, the only one of its kind in Canada, has been slated for closure. Canadian Blood Services (CBS) says it doesn't need the Thunder Bay facility given it has an excess supply of 10,000 units of plasma per year. However, their annual reports reveal that CBS has been increasing the volume of plasma it has been purchasing from the United States.

"CBS is not only importing foreign-sourced plasma, it is exporting Canadian jobs," says Thomas.

In their 2010-11 report, CBS indicated they purchased more than 20,000 units of "surplus" American-sourced plasma. OPSEU warns that American "paid" blood donations are contrary to the World Health Organization's 2010 recommendations to reduce transfusion-transmissible infections.

 

Len Mason, OPSEU Staff Representative - 807-344-5804