| Summary: | In 2014, Ontario passed Bill 21: Safeguarding Healthcare Integrity Act, which enacted the Voluntary Blood Donations Act, 2014, to ban all forms of compensation for donations of blood and blood components. Ontario justified this action by invoking the principles of the 1997 Krever Commission, which defined blood as a public resource of such value and importance that it must remain under the singular control of an organization that only serves the public interest. This reform was introduced with the intention to prevent another public health disaster like that of the tainted blood scandal in the 1980s, protect voluntary donor pools, and stop potentially exploitative plasma collection techniques. Responding to the licensing of a private plasma collection agency by Health Canada, Ontario met with key stakeholders such as Canadian Blood Services, Canadian Plasma Resources, blood advocacy organizations, and patient groups before finally passing Bill 21. By placing a ban against blood collection agencies besides Canadian Blood Services and by implementing aggressive consequences for violations, Ontario ensured all forms of blood donation would remain voluntary unless deemed necessary by Canadian Blood Services. Similar bills were introduced with differing outcomes in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Canadian Senate in 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively. The contentious and varying opinions on blood donation regulation at the provincial and federal levels of government demonstrate that this topic will remain relevant to Canadian politics for the foreseeable future.
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