A representative for the family of an international student who died after donating plasma at a Winnipeg for-profit centre is calling for Health Canada to reopen its investigation after learning her cause of death.
Katherine Lanteigne, a safe blood and patient advocate and representative for Rodiyat Alabede’s family, said the 22-year-old went into sudden cardiac arrest after giving plasma at the Grifols plasma donation centre on Taylor Avenue.
“The facts we have today demonstrate that there may have been multiple contributing factors to her death and none of them are her fault,” said Lanteigne at a Wednesday news conference with the Manitoba Health Coalition, a health advocacy group.
“She was not riding a bike or going for a swim when she died. She was donating plasma.”
Her cause of death, Lanteigne said, citing the chief medical examiner’s report, was dilated cardiomegaly — an enlarged heart.
The cause of Alabede’s death has not been publicly revealed. Lanteigne said she obtained a copy of the chief medical examiner’s report through the family, but CBC has not viewed the report.
Lanteigne and the Manitoba Health Coalition said they held the news conference to “correct the record” on the circumstances surrounding her death on Oct. 25, 2025.
“The pressure and stress a plasma donation would put on a donor’s heart with this condition would be profound,” she said.
CBC first reported in March that two people died after giving plasma at separate Grifols centres in Winnipeg.
Alabede died on Oct. 25, after friends say she gave plasma at the Grifols plasma donation centre on Taylor Avenue.
A second person’s death was reported as a fatal reaction following a donation at Grifols Innovation Drive location in Winnipeg in January 2026.
Health Canada reviewed both deaths, but in March said the investigations were concluded, and there was no connection between the deaths and the donation process.
However, the federal health regulator later revealed that if an undisclosed or unknown pre-existing medical condition contributed to the fatal reaction, it would not be considered related to the donation process.
Lanteigne and the Manitoba Health Coalition are calling for Health Canada to reopen its investigation into her death. A letter was also written to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Lanteigne said.
Grifols, a Spain-based company that specializes in producing plasma medicines, has over a dozen plasma collection centres in Canada.
The for-profit company has operated in Winnipeg since 2022, after acquiring Canadian Plasma Resources. It runs two centres locally — one on Taylor Avenue and one on Innovation Drive — where people are paid for their plasma.
A spokesperson for federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said in an email statement that “Canada has one of the safest blood systems in the world.”
The spokesperson said Health Canada inspected and imposed strict conditions on Grifols this year.
“Health Canada will continue to closely monitor the situation and take any additional action necessary to protect the safety of donors and maintain a safe blood supply for Canadians,” spokesperson Alexandre Bergeron wrote.
