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The family of a Winnipeg woman who died donating plasma last year is questioning the safety protocols of the organization who took the donation.
A representative for Rodiyat Alabede’s family says she died of a sudden cardiac arrest in October 2025 after donating plasma at a Grifols facility in Winnipeg.
She was one of two people to die in the past year in Winnipeg after donating.
They say an autopsy later determined Alabede had an enlarged heart and the donation put profound stress on her heart, ultimately leading to her death.
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It’s a condition Alabede was unaware of, and the family says it should have been caught in proper screening by Grifols, but the family claims that was never done.
Last month, Health Canada closed its investigation in the deaths, finding no link or correlation between the deaths and the donation.
But a representative for the family, Katherine Lanteigne, says further investigation into the death has found plenty of questions.
“They had staff taking plasma from donors who did not know how to extract plasma in a safe manner,” Lanteigne said
“They did not know how to respond to the codes in the machine, which would instruct them to stop the process. They did not know when and when not to put back whole blood into a donor during the process.
“They are so egregious that now we have more questions than answers.”
In a statement to Global News, a Grifols spokesperson says, “The investigation found no evidence of a machine malfunction or staff error that contributed to the donor’s serious adverse event.
“Health Canada has publicly stated that it has determined there was no linkage between the serious adverse event and the donating process.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
