Nurses are the latest group to join opposition to a private, for-profit plasma donor clinic in Saskatchewan.

Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, has written a letter to federal Health Minister Jane Philpott that says nurses believe the clinic poses a serious safety risk to the blood supply.

Canadian Plasma Resources opened its doors Feb. 18 and plans to pay people with $25 gift cards for making plasma donations.

The centre will be inspected by Health Canada and has to comply with national regulations, including donor screening and testing.

Zambory asks Philpott to immediately prevent Health Canada from issuing licenses to any clinic intending to pay donors for blood or plasma.

Zambory also points to an inquiry into the tainted blood scandal of the 1980s which recommended against paid-donor blood clinics.