About Us

About the Association

In 1987, the concerned parent of a child with aplastic anemia founded the Aplastic Anemia Family Association of Ontario. One of the very first goals of the Association was to advocate for the formation of a national bone marrow donor registry in Canada. Today, the Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplasia Association of Canada is a federally incorporated and a registered national charity with the ambitious goal of providing a seamless support network for every Canadian patient, family member, friend and concerned healthcare provider dealing with aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia or PNH.

Led by a volunteer board of directors and a distinguished team of medical advisors from across Canada, the Association has a number of provincial chapters. The Association relies heavily on the generosity of individual donors and volunteers, including chapter coordinators, to provide an array of essential programs and services.

Programs & Services

  • Telephone and e-mail peer-to-peer support
  • Educational material
  • Quarterly newsletter
  • Local patient support group meetings
  • Annual Patient Education Day
  • Grants for medical research and education
  • Promotion of Canadian Blood Services programs and the Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry

Board of Directors

Gwen Barry

Secretary, Nova Scotia

Marilynne Convey

British Columbia

Vivian Do

Treasurer, Ontario

Jennifer Garvey

Nova Scotia

Haydn Liang

Chair, Ontario

Ashley Oakes

Vice-Chair, British Columbia

Christine Pappas

Ontario

Sanjeev Parmar

Alberta

Jesse Prager

Ontario

Pam Wishart

British Columbia

Medical Advisors

Dr. S. Couban

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax

Dr. Y. Dror

Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Dr. L. Larratt

University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton

Dr. Heather Leitch

St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver

Dr. K. Schultz

BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver

Dr. John Storring

McGill University Health Centre, Montreal

Dr. R. Wells

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto

Provincial Support Groups

British Columbia has a small group of committed volunteers. Each year several meetings are arranged where speakers present topics of interest to patients dealing with bone marrow failure diseases.
Please contact us for more information.

The Alberta group works within local communities supporting families and patients with aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and PNH by distributing information and through fund raising efforts.

We recognize the desire for peer support for patients and family members dealing with these diseases and are able to put them in contact with others that have been effected with these illnesses and are willing to speak with them about their own experiences and help them through the journey.
Please contact us for more information.

Ontario hosts regular support group meetings in Toronto, Hamilton, Waterloo, London, Oshawa and Ottawa for myelodysplasia, aplastic anemia, and PNH patients and their families.
Please contact us for more information.

Meetings are held 2 -3 times per year in Quebec. These meetings are in French.
Please contact us for more information.

The Atlantic support group normally meets on the last Wednesday of each month, except in July and August, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Our meetings are held at the Atlantica Hotel on Robie St.
If you need more information or if a meeting in Halifax is too far out of the way for you, please contact us and we will attempt to find someone in your area with whom you can speak.

Please contact us for more information.