A donation of $40 million was made Thursday to the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation for cancer research by a couple directly affected by this disease, after the death of their eight-year-old son from leukemia in 1989.
This is the largest donation ever made to a hospital center in Quebec, according to the Foundation.
The amount donated by Diane Blais and Michel Lanteigne will be dedicated to the CHU Sainte-Justice Research Center, part of which will go to pediatric oncology. A fund for the development of innovative treatments in hemato-oncology will also be set up.
“It was after an extremely rigorous process that we chose the CHU Sainte-Justine. It is a decision from the head for the quality of the scientific approach, and from the heart because we have recognized in this team a real conviction and a great humanity”, affirmed the donors, who lost their son Benoît after a fight against cancer.
Even today, the cure rate for children with cancer is just over 80%.
“The advent of breakthrough technologies, such as genomics, gene editing, stem cell manipulation, small molecule library screening and artificial intelligence, is paving the way for the development of new treatments that have the potential to transform care for children with cancer,” said Dr. Jacques L. Michaud, Director of the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center.
In Quebec, nearly 350 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.