Mission Statement
The goal of the Peter Assaly Memorial Fund at the Royal Victoria Hospital is to contribute to improving the welfare of Montreal area patients suffering from Acute Leukemia or other blood related diseases.
The Peter Assaly Memorial Fund for Hematology/Oncology, directed by its Medical Advisory Board, commits all donated funds to: medical research for the treatment of Acute Leukemia and related diseases; the support of patients who are unable to provide for their essential needs; and, to enhance the comfort of patients during treatment.
With the generous help of our donors, The Peter Assaly Memorial Fund has been able to contribute significantly to several projects at the MUHC-Royal Victoria Hospital since 2001.
The Peter Assaly Memorial Fund has contributed to the establishment of an umbilical cord bank at the MUHC. The bank is presently operational and the current clinical results are very encouraging.
Since its inception, the Fund has supported the MUHC-Royal Victoria Hospital’s initiative to collect, extract and preserve stems cells from umbilical cord blood that were previously discarded as medical waste. Today, some 40 children’s diseases can be treated with these stem cells and there are exciting indications from early medical research that stem cells pooled from different umbilical cords can be combined to treat adults as well.
Dr. Pierre Laneuville, a medical advisor to the Fund, is in the forefront of this research. The availability of umbilical cord stem cells from the bank has given him and his team the ability to accelerate their work. In fact, transplants of multiple cords to adults have become a reality and some lives have already been saved!
In addition, the Fund has contributed to many projects including the purchase of urgently needed medical equipment and various initiatives to improve the comfort level of patients undergoing treatment, either as an outpatient or during their stay in the hospital. For example, the Fund has purchased items such as fans, DVD players, computers, internet access and leather chair/beds to be used by patients or family members.
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All of our board members and volunteers take great pride and satisfaction in the achievement of our goals and will continue to deliver positive results with your help.