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DKMS rings the closing bell at NASDAQ

Mario Cantone and Katharina Harf preside over the closing bell

DKMS had a late opening the day after the gala and much to our surprise and invitation to ring the closing bell for the NASDAQ on Friday May 9th, 2008!

We were so excited to be invited and even more so once we got there and saw this

Somehow that made it seem so official!

Once we got there we all made sure to take pictures(which you can find on Flickr) and really take in how important this event was. Not only did we receive the honor of ringing the closing bell, we got to do so with Mario Cantone who hosted our event. Both he and Katharina Harf, Executive Vice President of DKMS Americas gave a call to action speech about the need for marrow donors which was projected on the NASDAQ screen in Times Square.

Last week was by far the most eventful week we have had yet and I can only assume that things will just continue to go up from here.

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Linked Against Leukemia

2nd annual Gala to Benefit DKMS Americas

It was a moment two years in the making. Kenzie Grant met Magda Boysen, her life saving marrow donor.

It was such an important moment not only for me but for the hundreds of people that night who witnessed a miracle. This little girl would not have been there if it wasn't for Magda, a women from a small town in Germany who decided six years ago to commit herself to the marrow registry. Because a stranger made one small decision six years ago, a family's life was saved.

I knew it would be an emotional moment but I don't think I was prepared to watch this little girl change people. She was able to touch so many lives that night. In that one moment. I hope that when she grows up(and she will thanks to Magda)she looks back on this moment and knows that she is such an important person to everyone who was in that room that night.

In the words of Mario Cantone, last night's MC "GO GET SWABBED B*TCHES!"

To enjoy more pictures from the Linked against Leukemia Gala, benefitting DKMS Americas head over to our Flickr page.

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DKMS and Howcast Team Up to Show You How To Register To Donate Marrow

Sign up as a marrow donor today!

Have you ever wondered how to boil the perfect egg? Or, how to tie a tie? Or, how to register and donate your marrow?

Our friends over at Howcast certainly have. Howcast.com is a brand new online video site showing how-to videos you'll actually want to watch. We here at DKMS liked their style, so we teamed up with Howcast to shoot two very fun yet very informative how-to videos showing folks How To Register To Donate Bone Marrow and How To Donate Bone Marrow.

While these videos officially go live tomorrow (in time for our fundraising Gala), I couldn’t help giving you a sneak preview of them today...

Check them out and spread the word: email these videos to your friends and family. Its easy to do, just click the envelope button on the player below, enter in a few email addresses, add a quick note and hit Send. Of course, if you haven't already done so, .

How To Register To Donate Bone Marrow

How To Donate Bone Marrow

If you like what see, be sure to visit Howcast.com and let them show you how to do almost anything.

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Christine Guest Blogs

Christine, our intern from NYU

Hello There,
My name is Christine Johnson and I am just about to complete my first year at NYU. Last semester, my good friend Chere See, an international student from Singapore, started a DKMS club at NYU. In her senior year of high school, she helped organize a donor drive that registered over one thousand people in Singapore’s national registry. So, when she came to NYU, she wanted to continue here what she had started overseas. When I saw her passion, I could not resist joining the new club. We are small (but mighty!), and we work closely with DKMS Americas. On February 8th, DKMS @ NYU held its first donor drive in Goddard Residence Hall where we registered 54 students. Since then, we have held drives at Brittany and at 3rd North Residence Halls. Total, the club has helped register 131 students and we hope to up that number next year! Recognizing that it costs DKMS $65 to register each donor, we also wanted to start fundraising. We got our hands on some really cool new NYU sweatshirts (three different kinds) and began selling them at drives and other NYU events for 40% off of the bookstore price. We have raised almost $300 so far.

I met Ellie and Maria at the first donor drive. Ellie let me watch ‘How I Met Your Mother’ on her iPod, and I knew then that this organization was pretty awesome. About a week later, DKMS sent out a Facebook message asking for an intern. I couldn’t turn down the chance to work with such amiable people. So, I interviewed and got the job. I am now a Consultant with DKMS Americas. My responsibilities run the gamut, and I do everything from assembling registration kits to helping at donor drives to guest blogging. I love working here and getting the chance to be a part of an organization whose mission it is to save lives everyday!

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Are you Doing Something?

DKMS is Driving for Donors with Pat

“One Child's Dream / Driving For Donors was started by 11 year old Leukemia patient Pat Pedraja. Pat found out that so many people with Leukemia and other blood disorders are dying because they can't find bone marrow donor matches in order to get a transplant. There is a critical need for donors (especially minority donors) on the National Marrow Registry and most people don't know how easy it is to join the Registry. Pat set out to raise awareness about the need for marrow donors and started a National Marrow Drive to add 2007 donors to the National Marrow Registry. Pat and his family drove across the country in an RV, to 32 different cities in 3 months and held marrow donor drives. There is a fee for tissue typing to add donors to the Registry so Pat raised over $140,000 by selling ad space on his bald (from Chemotherapy) head! Pat added over 5500 donors in 3 months and is continuing doing marrow drives, raising money and promoting awareness about the need for marrow donors.”

Pat is now 13(well it will be official on Friday) and continues his fight to register marrow donors and this year DKMS is joining his team. This summer DKMS will go “on tour” with the Driving for Donors RV and will recruit marrow donors nationwide. But right now he is on a 5 day bus tour of the Southeast with the Do Something Dirty Hands Caravan, be sure to check out his blog for constant updates about Pat and the Dirty Hands Caravan.

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Todd our Super Star

my hero

I don’t like to say that I have favorites when it comes to patients but if I did, Todd, it might just be Todd. He is one of those people that has the ability to make you laugh the moment you meet him. Todd is a leukemia survivor who received a marrow transplant from his perfect donor May 2007. Unfortunately, Todd recently learned that he needed more marrow cells from his donor and is awaiting another transplant.

Todd’s transplant story doesn’t sound that special at first and you perhaps may be thinking that he is my favorite because he is a cutie but actually I am quite inspired by him.

Shortly after Todd was diagnosed with leukemia, DKMS got a call from his family saying that they wanted to register marrow donors to increase Todd’s chances of finding his perfect donor. So while Todd was going through one of the most difficult times of his life, he was thinking past himself and recruiting marrow donors for the national registry. And even when he found his match, he continued to register donors. In the past year and a half Todd has been able to register over 3,000 life saving marrow donors. And even with the recent news that he needs more donor cells, Todd continues to be good humored about the whole thing. He even created a group on facebook so his friends can submit ideas as to how he should style his hair before he loses it. That’s just the kind of person he is. And we wouldn’t have it any other way

Alina, Todd and Katharina

Registering marrow donors at the largest blood drive in the US at Mizzou University

Maria, Todd and Andrea

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Linked Against Leukemia Gala

DKMS Americas Gala 2008

As you may know part of my job is to organize and manage some of our marrow donor drives. Well, last week we were able to add over 1,500 new people to the registry. This is primarily why I haven’t been able to post a blog in the past week. After drives we have to go through swab samples and double check that registration forms are filled out correctly and completely. But I did manage to sneak in some shopping, specifically for our 2nd annual Linked Against Leukemia Gala at Capitale.

Last year's gala was held in conjunction with the Bone Marrow Foundation but this year' event is a solo venture and I couldn’t be more excited.

Like last year DMC,(our celebrity spokesperson)from RUN DMC will be performing, with this year's special guest Sarah Conner. Comedian Mario Cantone, from Sex and the City is hosting the event. Cindy Crawford and Emanuel Chirico (Chairman & CEO, Phillips-Van Heusen, parent company of Calvin Klein, Inc.) are being honored. And Natasha Bedingfield will be performing a selection of songs, so I am quite happy.

Last year I was responsible for checking in guests and VIPs, but this year I am escorting a patient and her family to the gala. She is actually meeting her marrow donor for the very first time, on stage at the gala. I can’t say anything about her yet since she still has to remain anonymous to her donor, but I can guarantee that it will be an emotional moment in the program. And I promise I will have pictures up May 8th.

Until then enjoy some pictures from last year's gala at our Flickr page. And here are some personal pictures as well.

Angela, Andrea, Emy, Nicole, Tricia, Me (Ellie), Elivette, Neha, and Maria

Andrea, Maria, Alina, Me (Ellie), and Elivette

Alina, Katharina and DMC


And in case you were wondering this is what my dress looks like

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YouTube

If I had the Perfect Donor

Edwin, my boyfriend, always says I have the easiest job because I just get to play around online. And while it’s not easy, it is quite fun. The best part of my job is recruiting potential life-saving marrow donors but a close second is searching YouTube and recently I came across the following video about the need to find a marrow donor.

There are a lot of videos on YouTube about marrow donation but this is one of my favorites. It really makes me believe laughter is the best medicine, aside from a perfect donor match.

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Music is Saving Lives

Jessica from Music Saves Lives, Guest Blogs

I’m Jessica Smith, and I am a leukemia survivor. On September 15, 2001, when I was 13, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I was fortunate enough that three years of chemo-therapy put me into remission, I finished treatment when I was 16, and I’m less than a year away from being cured. As a result of the treatment, I have a bone degenerative disease called Avascular Necrosis, and have had numerous surgeries in hopes to correct the damage caused by it. I am in good health, and definitely take full advantage of life.
When I was diagnosed I was convinced that the doctors had changed my life in one sentence, I told myself that nothing would ever be the same. I was right, my experiences changed me in so many ways, I had to grow up fast, I learned what a precious gift life is, I became strong, fearless and was given a need to continue the battle even after I finished chemo. Throughout my treatment, I got to experience how many people devote their lives to battling cancer, to working on either raising awareness or money to find a cure (or even make my battle a little easier). I was touched at how much people give of themselves for this cause, and I have been inspired to want to do the same.

I am an Elementary Education major, I plan on being a Child Life Specialist when I graduate, and I work for Music Saves Lives. I saw the DKMS and Music Saves Lives booth at the Vans Warped Tour last year, and every time I’d walk by it I would wonder what it was. When I went online the next day to find out what it was all about, I realized right then and there that this was what I had to do with my life. I had to give back, pay back all of the amazing things that people did for me. I was determined that I had to work for this company, so I sent out an email with my story, and a resume, a week later I was surprised and excited to find out that I had an interview set up.

I love my job, I talk to people everyday about two things that I am passionate about, music and the fight against cancer. I get to travel around, see new places, meet new people and at the same time spread the word about the importance of both the donating blood and being on the bone marrow registry. I couldn’t ask for a better job, and I’ll be around this summer at different concerts talking to and registering kids, as marrow donors for DKMS, around the country.

Technorati Profile

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Music Does Save Lives

The Millenial Generation

With Bands like Halifax, Run Doris Run and Plain White Tees who would have thought concertgoers would take the time out to save lives?
Well, just ask the over 10,000 marrow donors who have signed up over the past year through the Music Saves Lives and DKMS partnership.
This reminds me about the 60 Minutes report about the Millenial generation and where they were categorized as having a sense of “entitlement” and being “self-centered.” But when hundreds of young adults, some just 18 years old, take the time out of a concert to make a decision to commit themselves to become a marrow donor and be available until their 61st birthday it really makes you think other wise.

Check out this video: Saving Lives in 2008 PSA



Add to My Profile | More Videos

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A Girl's Night Out

Rihanna Moon Sparkle Concert

Last night I attended the exclusive Rihanna benefit concert at the Highline ballroom. I had such a great time! Rihanna puts on such an amazing show.
Escada Moon Sparkle teamed up with Rihanna’s label Island Def Jam in support of her latest album Good Girl Gone Bad and her Believe Foundation to present a Girls Night Out! The event was organized by Escada, who Rihanna worked with to create their newest fragrance, Moon Sparkle! .
As much as I loved the show, my personal highlight was actually meeting all the patients and donors who were able to attend the concert as VIPs.
Sometimes it’s really so easy to become jaded and separate work from emotions but sometimes there are moments when you realize that what you do makes a difference. I had one of those moments Wednesday night when I met Danny.

Danny’s 14, a double transplant survivor, and my new hero. He is so smart, articulate and has to be the funniest kid ever! He had us all cracking up the entire show with his one liners. And as if he wasn’t amazing enough, he hand painted these knee high Converse sneakers for Rihanna that he was going to present to her after the show. I told him he better stay in touch because I want a pair of my own….he also won the heart of a reporter from People magazine who was so moved by Danny. He told her that he could make her a pair as well. Danny is the type of person that you are lucky to meet and the experience will last you a lifetime.

The night was a great success for DKMS, Rihanna and the Believe Foundation. It was worth the loss of sleep. You can see more pictures from the event on Flickr

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Welcome to DKMS Americas

Our First Blog

If you have stumbled across this section of our website you are probably wondering one of two things (or both)….who are these people and why do they have a blog?

Well allow me to introduce DKMS (and myself) to you.

DKMS or "Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei" (German Bone Marrow Donor Center in English) was born in 1991 after Katharina Harf lost her mother, Mechtild, to leukemia. Katharina’s father, Peter Harf, and his family and friends worked tirelessly trying to find a life-saving match for her. Sadly, Katharina’s mother lost her battle, but continued fighting in her honor, so that one day all patients in need of a marrow transplant would have a fair chance of finding their life-saver. Katharina was only fourteen years old when she lost her mother.

In 2005, we expanded the DKMS mission to the United States, and since then, we have recruited and registered over 29,000 donors, and facilitated 35 donor and patient matches. But there is still much work to do. Last year, 35,000 cancer patients in the U.S. needed a marrow transplant. But only 3,700 received one. We have to make more matches happen. And, YOU can help us.

With the support of many of our friends, DKMS has been able to establish a donor recruitment program and national campaigns throughout the U.S. to raise awareness of leukemia and other blood cancers, important but often neglected diseases, and to increase the diversity of its donor registry.

That’s pretty much where I came in.

My name is Ellie Hernandez and I started working for DKMS in September 2006 where I stared as the Transport Coordinator, and then moved into Donor Recruitment and Internet Communications. I help to recruit the life-saving marrow donors needed to help populate the National Marrow Registry, so more patients with leukemia and other blood cancers can have a second chance at life.

The reasons we decided to have a blog were fairly simple.

~6, 000 people search for a transplant every day.
~Every five minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
~Every ten minutes blood cancer takes a life.
~DKMS can connect a patient with their marrow match

This blog will share stories about patients and their donor drives. As well as any new and exciting news in the world of DKMS.

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Register for Jacqueline

You could be the match to save her life

On Christmas Eve 2006, Jacqueline Rose (Jackie) then only three years old was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Jackie’s amazing spirit and courage persevered and she completed therapy on August 5, 2007; she was cancer free. Sadly, on February 8, 2008 it was confirmed that Jacqueline’s leukemia had returned and this time it was also in her central nervous system. The only way to treat relapse of AML is chemotherapy followed by a marrow transplant. Please register to become a donor. You could be the missing link to save her life.

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Mothers Unite to Save Lisa Gershowitz Flynn

Thousands of New York moms, including actress Kate Winslet, are joining in a desperate bid to find a bone marrow donor for a mother dying of leukemia.

The moms are networking at playgroups and cultural events, sending out mass e-mails and holding drives for Lisa Gershowitz Flynn. Lisa is a 41-year-old Manhattan lawyer and mother of two who doctors say may die in the next four to six weeks unless a match is found.

Read more in the New York Post:
Mothers Unite to Save Cancer Mom, February 18, 2008.

Visit Gift for Lisa.