Marshall Eliuk
Marshall Eliuk, dealer principal of Marshall Automotive, a Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership in Peace River, Alta., has made history by giving $1.5 million (the largest ever single donation) to Canadian Blood Services in support of creating a national Canadian umbilical cord blood bank. Eliuk, a self-made businessman, who at one time owned five dealerships and more than 286 properties, credits Canadian Blood Services with saving his life.
In 1999 he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, requiring multiple blood transfusions (six bags of platelets for three days over a nine month period). Eventually, his blood count returned to normal but if it hadn’t been for blood transfusions through Canadian Blood Services, Eliuk says he would not have survived. “Most people aren’t that fortunate to get their blood count back without stem cell replacement. If Canada had a national Cord Blood/Stem Cell bank in place (at the time) I could have had a transplant shortly after being diagnosed and been back to living a normal life shortly thereafter.”
Last summer, Eliuk discovered that Canadian Blood Services was wholly responsible for setting up a National Public Cord Blood/Stem Cell bank in Canada through its Campaign For all Canadians fundraising initiative. Upon hearing about the program, Eliuk says he just had to get involved.
“The requirement was for Canadian Blood Services to raise $12.5 million with the provinces and territories (excluding Quebec which has its own Cord Blood Bank) providing the rest up to a total of $48 million. I wanted to make sure the project moved forward so I donated $500,000.” Later, in September, Eliuk chose to donate another $ 1 million, resulting in the largest single contribution to Canadian Blood Services to date.
Eliuk says that when he heard the program had to raise more money to meet the $12.5 million target he immediately chose to donate another $1 million. “I couldn’t consider the idea of the program being scrapped,” he says.
Eliuk is hoping more dealers will step up to the plate and find ways to contribute. “There are some 80 diseases being cured via stem cell research. Life and health are most important and I feel good about my donation, knowing that stem cell replacement will save lives and give back the quality of life to those less fortunate. We can use the money to help others in the future — it’s a law of averages — the more times you knock on the door the more somebody is likely to open it.”
Margaret Miedema, Director of Major Gifts and Campaigns at Canadian Blood Services, says a national cord bank is a vital healthcare option for Canadians, especially as demand for stem cell transplants has been growing exponentially. “We’ve seen demand triple in the last five years,” she says. “Half of all childhood cancers are leukaemia or lymphoma — which require stem cell transplants.”
Miedema also says that at present, around 90 per cent of the stem cell registry is Caucasian making the odds of matching stem cells for other ethnic groups incredibly slim. “The whole aspect of diversity really sends a message,” she says. “We really need to step up, especially now that we are going more public and showing that Canadians are behind us. We need to spread the word.”
Miedema says dealers can help not only by providing support financially, but also by creating awareness in the communities they serve and getting their employees, families and even customers involved and excited about giving Canadians of all backgrounds the ability to receive stem cell transplants.
For more information visit: bloodservices.ca/campaign
