A list of new terms and conditions Health Canada has placed on a company’s paid plasma centres — following multiple recent failed inspections at some of its sites — does not apply to one of the Winnipeg Grifols locations which reported a person dying after giving plasma, the health agency said Friday.

Those conditions were introduced after two people died in Winnipeg less than four months apart — in October 2025 and January 2026 — following plasma donation at two different Grifols locations in the city.

That update also followed a failed January inspection of the company’s Canadian head office in Ontario, which doesn’t collect plasma but oversees the 16 sites under its licence.

Health Canada said in a statement Wednesday the new conditions applied to “all 16 collection centres due to recurring, systemic deficiencies across several sites.” 

But in an email on Friday, a spokesperson said only Winnipeg’s Taylor Avenue site will be subject to those new rules — because the city’s other Grifols site, on Innovation Drive near the University of Manitoba, is not one of the 16 sites under the same licence as the headquarters.

The Innovation Drive site, officially known as Grifols Canada Plasma II Inc., operates under a separate licence “with its own quality management system,” the email said. 

Health Canada previously said it did a virtual inspection of the company’s head office, and found Grifols wasn’t accurately assessing a donor’s suitability, did not thoroughly investigate errors and accidents and didn’t have enough properly trained staff members. 

That virtual inspection also found operating procedures were not always followed and that Grifols was allowing people to give plasma even when information shows “the safety of blood could be affected.”

WATCH | Health Canada reviewing deaths:

Health Canada says 2 deaths reported after plasma donation at for-profit Winnipeg collection centres

Two people, including a 22-year-old international student, died after giving plasma at Winnipeg collection centres that pay people for their donations.

Grifols, a Spanish company that specializes in producing plasma medicines, has more than a dozen centres in Canada to collect plasma, a protein-rich liquid that helps treat bleeding disorders, liver diseases and cancer. It’s also used to make medications like immunoglobulin.

The list of conditions Health Canada placed on Grifols sites across the country, including the one on Winnipeg’s Taylor Avenue, included reducing appointments so staff can fully follow procedures, reassessing the number of fully trained staff needed for positions and reviewing donor files before updating donor eligibility. 

Health Canada previously said the new conditions will stay in place until Grifols shows “sustained compliance” with blood regulations at all licensed sites.

A Grifols spokesperson said in an emailed statement Thursday donor safety is the company’s “top priority” and that it is addressing the “deficiencies” found by Health Canada and implementing the new terms and conditions.

Except in Quebec, where it’s run by Héma-Québec, Canada’s blood supply is managed by Canadian Blood Services, which entered into an agreement with Grifols in 2022 to help collect plasma on its behalf. 

There is a shortage of plasma across the country, and Canadian Blood Services officials say demand for immunoglobulins is on the rise.

The two Winnipeg deaths are still under review by Health Canada, which says no link has been found between the deaths and plasma collection.

Two other recent Grifols inspections resulted in non-compliant ratings in Calgary and Regina.