This article was originally published in the April 2025 edition of Héma-Québec’s Magazine. All issues of the Magazine are available here.

Alexandre, plasma recipient

Get one's head above water, thanks to plasma donation

As a young man studying microbiology and immunology at McGill University while competing in high-level swimming, Alexandre Grant couldn’t be stopped—until he encountered something far scarier than school and sports.

In his early twenties, while taking part in a competition and training camp in the United States, Alexandre was struck by a multi-day fever. The next week, he suddenly felt weak and experienced a tingling sensation in his hands and feet. He came back to Montréal, and his symptoms got worse and spread to other parts of his body, leading him to visit the emergency room.

The diagnosis came quickly enough: Alexandre had Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare disease that causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nerves. His life took an unexpected turn: in a few days, he was almost completely paralyzed. He didn’t know it yet, but he would be confined to hospitals for several months.

Plasma—the key to treatment  

At the height of the disease, Alexandre, formerly an athlete in peak condition, could no longer walk and had to use a wheelchair to get around. Thankfully, GBS is treatable and most people with it make a good recovery, but the road back to health can be long and arduous. To slow down Alexandre’s runaway immune system, doctors gave him a plasma-derived medicine: intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIG). He could finally start his recovery. But he wasn’t out of the woods just yet—rehabilitation was without a doubt the hardest part.

Learning to hope and move again  

When Alexandre was transferred to the Institut de réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay, he was still in a wheelchair, and quite weak. He began an intensive monthandahalf course of treatment of physical therapy, occupational therapy and psychology. Taking care of his mind was just as important as looking after his body. How do you overcome feelings of loneliness and powerlessness from spending dozens of days bedridden and in pain, unable to move? The rarity of Guillain–Barré syndrome made this feeling of isolation even worse, as so few people have gone through the same thing.

Alexandre went home about two months after his trip to the ER. He still had several more months of rehab work to do. He had lost a major part of what made him who he was—his schooling and top-level athletics—and every small step back to normality was as important as it was hard. Thanks to the benefits of youth and Alexandre’s incredible physical condition, he was able to make an almost complete recovery.

About a year after leaving the hospital and after a lengthy rehabilitation, Alexandre competed in the national swimming championships, breaking his personal bests. But the disease took a toll on his body, which could no longer endure the intense training needed to compete at the elite level, so he made the decision to retire from competitive sports at a young age to focus on his new goal: becoming a doctor.

Giving back to the community  

Now well-educated on the importance of plasma donation, Alexandre has become a frequent donor, making sure to visit a Héma-Québec donation centre whenever he is back in Québec from medical school at the University of Alberta.

After Alexandre’s sister met a volunteer at a donation centre, she told him that there was a foundation dedicated to Guillain–Barré syndrome. That is how he got involved with the GBS/CIDP Foundation of Canada (the second acronym is for another rare neurological disease: Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy), first as a volunteer, then representing Québec as a director on the Board. In this role, Alexandre can now contribute to raising awareness about plasma donation and support people affected by the disease in Québec.

GBS is a rare condition, and information is not always easy to find, so patients often feel isolated. Alexandre himself had very little knowledge about the issue, even after studying in health care. That’s why, in addition to providing general information about the disease, the GBS/CIDP Foundation organizes support groups and raises awareness and money for its programs. The Foundation’s volunteers can also frequently be seen at Héma-Québec donation centres. Since February 2025, Alexandre has also been the interim chair of Héma-Québec’s Recipient Representatives Advisory Committee.