DKMS And The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's New York City Chapter Announce Partnership

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia
Also Included In: Blood / Hematology;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 24 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PST

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DKMS, the world's largest bone marrow donor center, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's New York City Chapter will team up at this year's Light The Night Walk(R) to pay homage to patients battling cancer and to recruit bone marrow donors needed to give hope to more patients suffering from life-threatening blood diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Light The Night Walk(R) is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) night to pay tribute to and bring hope to people battling cancer. Each fall, teams of friends, families and co-workers raise funds for cancer research. Walking in twilight, walkers hold illuminated balloons -- white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memoriam. More than a two- to three-mile walk, the evening includes music, food and family activities.

Three walks are scheduled throughout the boroughs of Staten Island, Manhattan and Queens.

Saturday, October 4 at Midland Beach Promenade, Staten Island

Thursday, October 16 at the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan

Saturday, October 18 at Forest Park, Queens

"We are honored to work with such a great organization like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, who shares the same mission," said Katharina Harf (http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/about/who-we-are/welcome), EVP, DKMS Americas. "This collaboration will heighten awareness of blood cancers and encourage people to register as bone marrow donors, while honoring those who lost their lives to these life-threatening diseases."

"We are incredibly grateful to DKMS for helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society build awareness about blood cancers," said Michael Osso, Executive Director of the New York City Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "Light The Night presents a unique opportunity to reach the community and encourage individuals to play a part in the fight against cancer by registering as a donor."

More than 894,000 Americans live with leukemia, lymphoma or other blood cancers. Every five minutes someone is diagnosed and every ten minutes someone dies. With your help, we can change these statistics and help make a difference.

Individuals interested in registering as a potential life-saving bone marrow donor can contact DKMS at 1.866.340.DKMS (3567), or by e-mail at info@dkmsamericas.org. To participate in this year's walk, contact The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's New York City Chapter at 212.532.5054 or at http://www.lightthenight.org/nyc.

About DKMS

DKMS is the world's largest marrow donor center with over 1.7 million registered marrow donors. Since its founding in Germany in 1991, DKMS has facilitated more than 14,000 transplants.

The mission of DKMS is to give every blood cancer patient a second chance at life by recruiting marrow donors from every race and ethnicity. We inspire hope and healing by matching our donors with patients around the world in need of a marrow transplant.

DKMS Americas is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization.

For more information about DKMS, please visit http://www.dkmsamericas.org

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $617 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society