February 5, 2020

Donation to be made in Nathan Magnuson’s name

Calgary, AB, February 5, 2020. . . One local blood product recipient will take a shot to help save a life at the Calgary Hitmen game on Friday, Feb. 7.

As the game’s presenting sponsor, Canada Life will invite 19-year-old Nathan Magnuson to shoot for the chance to have a $1,000 donation made to Canadian Blood Services in his name.

• In 2015, Nathan Magnuson was diagnosed with high-risk b-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer patients often require blood products as part of their treatment. To date, Nathan has had more than 120 chemotherapy treatments, 32 blood transfusions and several hospital visits (an appendectomy, pneumonia, isolation, a stroke and two blood clots in his femoral artery). During his treatment, he has lived his life as any teenager would – he’s played football with special chest plates to protect his port, skied, mountain biked, hiked, water skied, been scouted as a model and completed summer school. He has four months remaining in his three-and-a-half-year journey.

“Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood,” said Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, Canada Life. “We’re proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Canadian Blood Services and at the same time, offer people a chance to make a meaningful contribution to a cause they care about so deeply.”

Canada Life has been a dedicated supporter of Canadian Blood Services for more than 50 years. In 2015, Canada Life made a national commitment to support Canadian Blood Services and Hema Quebec Donor Services by officially joining the Partners for Life program. The company is also a founding national sponsor of the NextGen Lifeline program. In 2019, Canada Life extended their support for Canadian Blood Services by partnering with them for select Canadian Hockey League Game Nights in communities across the country.

About Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit charitable organization. Regulated by Health Canada as a biologics manufacturer and primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health, Canadian Blood Services operates with a national scope, infrastructure and governance that make it unique within Canadian healthcare. In the domain of blood, plasma and stem cells, we provide services for patients on behalf of all provincial and territorial governments except Quebec. The national transplant registry for interprovincial organ sharing and related programs reaches into all provinces and territories, as a biological lifeline for Canadians. Learn more at blood.ca.

About The Canada Life Assurance Company

Canada Life is a leading insurance, wealth management and benefits provider focused on improving the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. For more than 170 years, individuals, families and business owners across Canada have trusted us to provide sound guidance and deliver on the promises we’ve made.

As of January 1, 2020, Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life became one company – Canada Life, and today, we proudly serve more than 13 million customer relationships from coast to coast to coast.

For more information contact:

Alicia Skrinjar
Canada Life
416-552-5044
Media.Relations@canadalife.com