Victoria - The BC Health Coalition is commending the B.C. government’s action today to safeguard the public blood and plasma collection system.
This morning Health Minister Adrian Dix tabled the Voluntary Blood Donations Act that will ban payment for blood and plasma collection in B.C.
“This legislation will help protect the health and wellbeing of the many British Columbians who rely on our voluntary blood and plasma collection system,” said Rick Turner, BC Health Coalition co-chair. “We welcome this move to protect our life-saving public donor system and we are hopeful that all members of the legislature will support this important legislation.”
In provinces where a for-profit plasma collection company is currently operating, the company is selling the blood products on the global market - making them unavailable to Canadian patients.
“Making sure that the blood and plasma collected in B.C. stays in Canada is good for Canadian patients and good for the public health care system,” says Turner.
B.C., like all jurisdictions, has a limited pool of potential donors. Preventing pay-for-plasma clinics from operating in the province ensures that they will not draw donors away from the voluntary blood system.
In 2016 Canadian Blood Services warned provincial and federal governments that for-profit collectors in Saskatchewan were drawing donors away from the voluntary blood system. CBS has asked the provinces to put the brakes on pay-for-plasma and instead support their plan for plasma self-sufficiency.
Ontario, Alberta and Quebec have similar legislative bans in place.
The BC Health Coalition has advocated, along with other safe blood advocates, for a B.C. ban on pay-for-plasma since 2016, when private company Canadian Plasma Resources said they planned to open pay-for-plasma clinics in B.C.
- Read BCHC news release here.