Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario

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 d...

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Main Author: Ansh Goyal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McMaster University Library Press 2020-06-01
Series:Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé
Subjects:
Online Access:https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/hro-ors/article/view/4187/3668
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author Ansh Goyal
author_facet Ansh Goyal
author_sort Ansh Goyal
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description 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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spelling doaj.art-6f27dbd72c184d798ddda58f56b1b9b22022-12-22T02:24:15ZengMcMaster University Library PressHealth Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé2291-63692020-06-018210.13162/hro-ors.v8i2.4187Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in OntarioAnsh Goyal0McGill UniversityIn 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.https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/hro-ors/article/view/4187/3668voluntary blood donationpaid compensationblood securitycanadian blood servicesontariobill 21
spellingShingle Ansh Goyal
Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
Health Reform Observer - Observatoire des Réformes de Santé
voluntary blood donation
paid compensation
blood security
canadian blood services
ontario
bill 21
title Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
title_full Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
title_fullStr Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
title_full_unstemmed Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
title_short Banning Compensation for Donations of Blood and Blood Components in Ontario
title_sort banning compensation for donations of blood and blood components in ontario
topic voluntary blood donation
paid compensation
blood security
canadian blood services
ontario
bill 21
url https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/hro-ors/article/view/4187/3668
work_keys_str_mv AT anshgoyal banningcompensationfordonationsofbloodandbloodcomponentsinontario