This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
“Canada has lived through the tragedy of tainted blood, with ordinary Canadians being infected because our blood system was not secure. Governments must learn the lessons of the past, otherwise they risk condemning more Canadians to suffering. NUPGE and our members will continue to work with our allies to press our elected representatives to ban paid blood and plasma.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (14 June 2017) — World Blood Donor Day is an opportunity for Canadians and people around the world to commit to ensuring people in need have a safe and secure access to life-saving blood products.
In Canada, following the tragic history of the tainted-blood scandal in the 1990s, it is critically important that we learn those lessons outlined by the Krever Commission, which can be found on the BloodWatch website.
This is why, on this World Blood Donor Day, NUPGE is standing alongside all of our members who work collecting, delivering and processing blood products through Canadian Blood Services (CBS).
Our blood system is under threat
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is committed to ensuring CBS remains a strong national, public and non-profit blood collection system that Canadians can be proud of.
Unfortunately, this system is currently under direct threat. Canadian Plasma Resources, a private, for-profit corporation has been pushing hard to promote a paid plasma system in Canada. Paid plasma directly contravenes one of the key recommendations of Justice Krever and would put our system unnecessarily at risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends against paid plasma and recommends all blood products come from volunteer donors.
“Canada has lived through the tragedy of tainted blood, with ordinary Canadians being infected because our blood system was not secure. Governments must learn the lessons of the past, otherwise they risk condemning more Canadians to suffering. NUPGE and our members will continue to work with our allies to press our elected representatives to ban paid blood and plasma,” said Larry Brown, NUPGE President.
Ban paid blood and plasma
The National Union is asking all Canadians to demand our governments ban paid blood and plasma and follow the recommendations of the Krever Commission. Alberta, Ontario and Quebec have already banned paid blood and plasma; other provinces as well as the federal government need to take action.
To support our public blood donor system, contact the Canadian Blood Services to donate blood or plasma to help save lives.
We are inviting you to show your support for voluntary blood donations this week. Please see below for our MP/MPP/MLA call-in script and our sample letter to the editor. Thank you for your action!
You can help out by sending a message to your elected representative through the Canadian Health Coalition’s website or through BloodWatch.org.
More information: