The New Brunswick Health Coalition is pushing Premier Brian Gallant for a moratorium against a “For Profit Plasma Collection Clinic” in Moncton.
Canadian Plasma Resources has set up in Moncton on Elmwood Drive and will be paying donors for plasma donations to the tune of $25 to $100.
Co-Chair Jean-Claude Basque says they are hoping for a positive result after getting nowhere with Provincial Health Minister Victor Boudreau.
Basque adds there are health and safety risks inherent in allowing private blood and plasma collection.
“Their motivation is profit, so if your first motivation is to make money, that could open the issue that perhaps they’re not going to be safe enough,” says Basque. “We’re not saying they’re not safe, but that’s opening that issue.”
Basque says the World Health Organization recommends one, non-profit collection agency.
“We don’t understand how our Minister of Health that’s supposed to be in charge of our health can go against these recommendations either by the World Health Organization or by Canadian Blood Services, it’s incomprehensible,” states Basque.
He says the problem is, plasma collected at this clinic cannot be used by Canadian Blood Services because it comes from paid donors.
Basque continues, “so, the question is, why is our minister accepting a clinic that’s going to collect plasma from citizens [of] New Brunswick, but not going to be used in New Brunswick or in Canada?”
Basque wants Premier Gallant to introduce legislation banning payment for blood and plasma donations.
He says laws like that have already been introduced in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta.
New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau says the province saw no need to put up roadblocks despite a ban on the practice in Quebec and Ontario.
“Over 70 percent of the plasma used in Canada comes from sources on the private market and the vast majority comes from paid donors in the U.S.,” he notes.
Given that, Boudreau doesn’t see any reason why we can’t use plasma from paid donors here in Canada, more specifically from New Brunswick.
