Plasma Machine Alerts Ignored Before Woman's Death

In October 2025, 22-year-old Rodiyat Alabede died after donating plasma at a Grifols Plasma Donation Centre in Winnipeg. Unredacted documents from Health Canada reveal that the machine used for plasma collection issued four alerts during her procedure. Standard practice dictated that these alerts, particularly those related to vein pressure, should have resulted in the termination of the collection.

However, these protocols were reportedly not followed. One document notes that staff resumed Alabede's collection despite a vein return pressure of 52 millimetres of mercury, exceeding the specified limit of 40. The Spain-based company, Grifols, later issued a memo to staff across Canada on December 5, detailing the requirement to terminate collections under such alert conditions.

Health Canada investigated Alabede's death and concluded in March that there was no connection to the donation process. Similarly, Manitoba's chief medical examiner determined her death was due to cardiac arrhythmia from an enlarged heart, stating that while subtle changes from plasma donation were possible, they could not be proven post-mortem. Grifols maintains that all assessments show no link to the donation process and has offered to meet with the family.

Recently, Alabede's family received a revised medical examiner's report after inaccuracies were found in the initial version, further raising concerns for the family's advocate. Separately, another death occurred at a different Grifols location in Winnipeg in January 2026, with the cause not yet publicly released.