Two people die after donating plasma at Canadian clinics under federal investigation

Rodiyat Alabede, 22, an international student, died after donating plasma in Winnipeg at a chain where some clinics are under scrutiny. Photograph: gofundme

Two people have died in Canada after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has been under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain its machines.

While experts say the deaths are exceedingly rare, critics say Canada’s embrace of private companies to handle blood products reflects a “slow collapse of a system that has been the envy of the world”.