9TH ANNUAL DELETE BLOOD CANCER GALA
Hosted by Randy Jackson – Special Performance by Kesha
Marcel R.M. van den Brink M.D., Ph.D. Honored
Olivia Palermo, Lily Lane, Anastasia Ganias, Peyton List, Derek Lam, Lauren Remington Platt, Bryanboy Among Those in Attendance
Event Raises Over $3.9 Million
NEW YORK – APRIL 17, 2015 – Last night, Delete Blood Cancer DKMS presented its ninth annual Delete Blood Cancer Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The gala was co-hosted by Delete Blood Cancer Co-Founder Katharina Harf and co-chaired by Coty Inc., a leading global beauty company. The star-studded evening raised over $3.9 million.
As part of the evening’s program, Delete Blood Cancer DKMS Co-Founder Katharina Harf presented the Delete Blood Cancer award to Marcel R.M. van den Brink M.D., Ph.D., Head of the Division of Hematologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in recognition of his extraordinary research and advancements in bone marrow transplantation.
Record producer and TV personality Randy Jackson emceed the gala dinner for the first time. The evening also featured a special performance by international superstar, KESHA, featuring four of her smash hits. Olivia Palermo, Lily Lane, Anastasia Ganias, Peyton List, Jonathan Cheban, Lauren Remington Platt, Bryanboy and Derek Lam were among those in attendance.
The event also called attention to Delete Blood Cancer DKMS patient, Anthony Daniels, who is in need of a bone marrow donor. The signature highlight of the evening came during a miracle moment, when seven-year-old Kaleb Dummer was introduced, for the first time, to Cole Kennedy (22), the unrelated donor who saved his life.
“To see a patient and donor meet for the first time is like witnessing a miracle,” said Co-Founder Katharina Harf, “At the same time, we have to do more for people like 23-year-old Anthony, who has relapsed four times, and his only chance is a bone marrow transplant.”
Delete Blood Cancer works every day to delete blood cancer by inspiring as many people as possible to register as bone marrow donors so more patients are given second chances at life. By celebrating how donors can save lives, Delete Blood Cancer dispels the myths about the donation process.
For the second year, supermodel and face of COTY global cosmetic brand Rimmel, Georgia May Jagger, served as the Global Ambassador in the fight against blood cancer. Coty has been the founding corporate sponsor since 1996.
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ABOUT DELETE BLOOD CANCER DKMS
Delete Blood Cancer DKMS is part of the world’s largest network of donor centers. We have helped register more than 5 million potential donors and facilitated over 47,000 lifesaving transplants around the world. But we’re not stopping there. Every day we lead the fight against blood cancer by working with families, communities and organizations to recruit more donors and provide more patients with second chances at life. Delete Blood Cancer DKMS America is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. To donate or register as a bone marrow donor, please visit www.deletebloodcancer.org.
ABOUT THE COTY-DELETE BLOOD CANCER DKMS PARTNERSHIP
In October 2006, Coty Inc., leading global beauty company, joined Delete Blood Cancer DKMS as its founding corporate sponsor by establishing the Coty-Delete Blood Cancer DKMS partnership in the fight against blood cancer. Coty has leveraged its strong celebrity partnerships to raise awareness of the disease, having raised over $8.5M over the last 8 galas, and recruited thousands of donors around the world, including 1,812 registered Coty employees worldwide. Additionally, Coty has assisted Delete Blood Cancer DKMS in establishing independent DKMS organizations in the U.S., Poland and the U.K., with plans to open more offices across the globe. Leukemia, a blood cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide, personally affected the Coty family when the wife of former Coty Chairman and Board member Peter Harf succumbed to the disease in 1991. Coty’s Global Ambassador for the cause, Georgia May Jagger, will also attend the gala for the 2nd year in a row. Ms. Jagger has used her star power to register donors and build awareness for the cause.