Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
John Ralston Saul is renowned Canadian novelist and former president of PEN International.
A moment of unfamiliar exhaustion was the first sign that his life was quietly being overtaken by myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The disease can develop into leukemia if left untreated. In order to survive, John needed a stem cell transplant, a risky procedure that it required the expertise of the Hans Messner Allogenic Stem Cell Program at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Just hours after the procedure was completed, John picked up his pen and began writing again.
"UHN is a place where everybody's focused on life, not death," he says. "I had wonderful conversations every day with the doctors, nurses and all the staff.
Read more from John's story:
uhn.ca/corporate/news/pages/john-ralston-saul-they-saved-my-life.aspx
UHN is Canada's No. 1 hospital and the world's No. 1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 20,000 members of TeamUHN, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care.
John Ralston Saul is renowned Canadian novelist and former president of PEN International.
A moment of unfamiliar exhaustion was the first sign that his life was quietly being overtaken by myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The disease can develop into leukemia if left untreated. In order to survive, John needed a stem cell transplant, a risky procedure that it required the expertise of the Hans Messner Allogenic Stem Cell Program at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
Just hours after the procedure was completed, John picked up his pen and began writing again.
"UHN is a place where everybody's focused on life, not death," he says. "I had wonderful conversations every day with the doctors, nurses and all the staff.
Read more from John's story:
uhn.ca/corporate/news/pages/john-ralston-saul-they-saved-my-life.aspx
UHN is Canada's No. 1 hospital and the world's No. 1 publicly funded hospital. With 10 sites and more than 20,000 members of TeamUHN, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education at UHN and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care.
