00594 Report2C Digital 2020-04-30 - Flipbook - Page 4
MORE CHANCES. MORE TOMORROWS
THE NEXT 100,000 STARTS NOW
—By Steven Devine, MD
We live in a world of numerical benchmarks. At Be The Match®,
numbers transcend the simple quantity they represent and
instead take on a much more human and personal significance,
representing the accumulated differences between the risk of
death and the hope of life.
In 2019, Be The Match accomplished a feat that no one could
even imagine when we began more than 30 years ago—100,000
blood stem cell transplants performed. This milestone is even
more awe-inspiring when you consider only 50,000 transplants
were facilitated during our first 25 years. It took just over seven
years to double that number.
This is more than just a number, more than just an extraordinary
achievement, each one of those 100,000 transplants represents
individuals and families with personal stories. Stories of life
and death, of devastating sadness and overwhelming joy, and
powerful reminders of the critical nature of the work the entire
transplant community is called to do.
Stories told by people like Donna, who was diagnosed with a
life-threatening blood disease called myelodysplastic syndrome
(MDS), after experiencing symptoms of fatigue. For Donna and
her loved ones, all that mattered was finding a cure. Her best
2 | BeTheMatch.org/2020
option for that was a blood stem cell transplant. Fortunately,
a match was found for Donna, and she became our 100,000th
patient to be given a chance at life. Her story is a testament to
the work we do at Be The Match and a reminder of why we need
to exist.
As a physician, I do more than simply read about these
powerful personal stories, I experience them firsthand through
patients I have treated. I understand all too well that life or death
for a patient I am treating can come down to finding that one
donor who gives them a chance to embrace life and the love
of their family.
As we celebrate this impressive benchmark, we honor the
individuals and families who make up those 100,000 blood stem
cell transplants and the doctors, nurses, medical professionals
and caregivers who are such an important part of this process.
We also celebrate the visionaries who came before us who, when
told a national registry would fail, never gave up hope. Their vision
became a reality, and we can now say that 100,000 volunteer
donors have stepped up to help a stranger and millions more
have joined the Be The Match Registry®.
On behalf of Donna and the other 99,999 patients who have
received their transplants and for the next 100,000 whose
survival depends on cellular therapy, thank you for your support.
We will continue to urgently work to meet patient needs and
strive to facilitate equal outcomes in the hopes of delivering
precious tomorrows for all.
Steven Devine, MD, is Chief Medical Officer
for the National Marrow Donor Program®/Be The Match®
CONTENTS
1 Meet Kathryn
Dear friends,
2 Celebrating 100,000 Transplants
At Be The Match®, our obligation to patients drives us forward every day as we
work to save lives through cellular therapy and provide equal outcomes for all.
3 Letter from our Leaders
We have to urgently focus on meeting the needs of our patients because every
three minutes someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood cancer—for
which a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor may be the best, or
only, hope of a cure.
To facilitate those cures, Be The Match registers potential donors and coordinates
the collection of blood stem cells for transplants to these patients. The
Be The Match Registry is the world’s largest registry. Every search through our
registry provides patients with access to more than 35 million potential donors
and nearly 783,000 umbilical cord blood units worldwide. In essence, the registry
holds within it the hope of the promise of more tomorrows for patients who so
desperately need life-saving treatments.
Please join us in learning more about our patients, donors, contributors and
partners—we’re excited to share these stories with you on the pages of this annual
report. It is an inspiring snapshot of the impact our work had in 2019 as we focus
on the goals ahead of us to support research (and data collection) in cellular
therapy to improve patient outcomes and increase survival.
Without the steadfast commitment of partners, contributors and donors like
you, this work is not possible. Our resolve to deliver life-saving and life-changing
cellular therapy has never been stronger—thank you for joining us in delivering
more hope and life to our patients.
Amy Ronneberg
Acting Chief Executive Officer
National Marrow Donor Program®
(NMDP)/Be The Match®
4 Our Mission and Performance
6-7 Meet JJ and Lauren
8 Meet Laila
10-11 Meet Lucy and Briana
12 Financials and Global Network
14 FY2019 At a Glance
16 Board of Directors
18 Individual Contributors
Dr. Randy Mills, CEO
21 Lifetime and Legacy Contributors
22 Corporations, Foundations
and Organizations
24 Volunteers
26 Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers
27 Board of Ambassadors
28 Monthly Supporters
29 Gift-in-Kind Contributors
29 How You Can Help
and Connect with Us
Joy King
Executive Director,
Be The Match Foundation®
Chief Advancement Officer,
National Marrow Donor Program®
(NMDP)/Be The Match®
2019 Report to the Community | 3