Family gives $50M to Toronto East General Hospital

The family of a former child patient at the Toronto East General Hospital has donated an unprecedented $50 million to the medical facility.

Michael Garron was born at the hospital in 1962. He died at age 13 after seven years of living with a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma.

Before his death, Myron and Berna Garron, Michael’s parents, promised him he would be honoured in a significant way.

On Wednesday, the couple announced their $50-million donation to the hospital. The contribution is the largest ever made to a Canadian community hospital.

“I was eight years old when Michael died,” said brother Anthony Garron, “and it’s always been in our family’s heart to memorialize Michael in some great way. And this is a great way to do that because this was the hospital that Michael was born in.”

As a result, the hospital is changing the name of its main campus to the Michael Garron Hospital.

The Garrons’ donation will go towards purchasing state-of-the-art equipment and attracting top talent to the hospital.

The facility is embarking on a major redevelopment over the next few years.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Pauline Chan