VICTORIA— British Columbia should ban pay-for-plasma clinics, say the B.C. New Democrats.

“Paid blood donations put our safe blood supply at risk in more ways than one and it’s disappointing that Health Minister Terry Lake left the door open,” said B.C. New Democrat health spokesperson Judy Darcy.

“After the tainted blood scandal, Justice Horace Krever strongly recommended against for-pay blood clinics, saying in part that it risked the safety of the blood supply,” said Darcy. “We support that recommendation and we think that the current system should continue.”

Laws already prohibit paying for the donation of organs, and while the scale may be different, the principle remains the same: treating vital human tissue or blood as a commodity is a slippery slope.

Darcy said having pay-for-plasma clinics would increase competition for donors, which is already a limited pool in Canada. There is no guarantee plasma collected in Canada would be used in Canada.

Ontario and Quebec already have laws banning pay-for-plasma clinics and Darcy said that British Columbia should follow their lead.

“This is about protecting a safe, stable supply of blood products for Canadian patients,” said Darcy.