Plasma donor death sparks new investigation call
Family of 22-year-old who died at Grifols clinic says inconsistencies between federal and provincial reports warrant fresh scrutiny into circumstances.
The family of Rodiyat Alabede, a 22-year-old University of Winnipeg student who died after donating plasma in October, is calling for a new investigation after discovering conflicting information in government and medical records.
Alabede died on October 25 at a Grifols collection centre in Winnipeg after becoming unresponsive 45 minutes into a donation. Health Canada concluded in April that her death coincided with—but was not caused by—the plasma donation process. Manitoba's chief medical examiner's office agreed with that finding.
But documents reviewed by The Globe and Mail reveal discrepancies. The autopsy report says only 200 millilitres had been collected when Alabede's health problems began; a Health Canada medical summary sent to MPs states 586 mL had been collected. The autopsy lists cardiac arrest as the cause of death and notes she had an enlarged heart; Health Canada's summary says the cause is redacted but concludes "no evidence of a causal relationship to donation procedures."
Public-health advocate Kat Lanteigne, speaking on behalf of Alabede's family, says the inconsistencies demand a full investigation including experts in plasma donation and cardiology. The family has struggled to obtain Alabede's complete donation records from Grifols and says the company was unresponsive for weeks until recently.
Grifols, the only major commercial plasma collector in Canada, was already operating under conditions imposed by Health Canada after the agency found "recurring, systemic deficiencies" at the company's sites. A second donor died in January at a different Grifols centre.
The conflicting records underscore how little oversight exists in Canada's for-profit plasma collection industry—and how little transparency donors receive.