DKMS 30th Anniversary Gala Raises $4.5 Million To Continue Its Lifesaving Work Against Blood Cancer

October 29, 2021—DKMS, the international non-profit dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, marked its 30th anniversary last night with a black-tie gala at Cipriani Downtown in New York. The event raised $4.5 Million to continue the organization’s global, life-saving work.

Highlights of the evening included:

•GRAMMY-Award winners Black Eyed Peas, performing a dynamic set of their well-known hits 

•a live fundraising auction hosted by Sotheby’s Michael Macaulay

•virtual remarks by diversity champion Sue Y. Nabi, CEO of beauty powerhouse Coty—one of the beauty industry’s few female CEOs and a transgender woman. 

•a Q&A with Katharina and Peter Harf hosted by award-winning broadcast correspondent Gigi Stone

•A heartwarming moment between a lifesaving stem cell donor and the receiving patient, meeting for the first time ever on stage

The evening’s high-profile guests included supermodel Coco Rocha and her husband, artist/muralist James Conran, model/actress Kaia Gerber—daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, fashion designer Vera Wang, model Niki Taylor, tv/film actress and model Jaime King, and singer-songwriter LP.

The gala audience was deeply moved by the on-stage introduction of a blood cancer patient to her lifesaving stem cell donor—a live reminder of the organization’s success with donor registration and efforts to expand and diversify its donor pool. 

Katharina Harf, Vice Chairwoman of Global Board, DKMS, said, “I'm so grateful for the tremendous support we received. The funds we raised enable us to register 100,000 new potential lifesavers. It was an emotional celebration of our achievements over 30 years and a reminder that our work is not yet done. Blood cancer has sadly touched many of our lives, including my own with the loss of my mother. Only together can we build a future where there is hope for all and we are grateful for everyone who joins us in this vital mission.”

About DKMS

DKMS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer. Founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr. Peter Harf, DKMS and the organization’s over 1,000 employees have since relentlessly pursued the aim of giving as many patients as possible a second chance at life. With 11 million registered donors, DKMS has succeeded in doing this 95,000 times to date by providing blood stem cell donations to those in need. This accomplishment has led to DKMS becoming the global leader in the facilitation of unrelated blood stem cell transplants. The organization has offices in Germany, the US, Poland, the UK, Chile, and South Africa. In India, DKMS has founded the joint venture DKMS-BMST together with the Bangalore Medical Services Trust. International expansion and collaboration is key to helping patients worldwide because like the organization itself, blood cancer knows no borders. DKMS is also heavily involved in the fields of medicine and science, with its own research unit focused on continually improving the survival and recovery rate of patients. In its high-performance laboratory, the DKMS Life Science Lab, the organization sets worldwide standards in the typing of potential blood stem cell donors.

DKMS ON THE WEB

https://shorefire.com/roster/dkms

https://www.dkms.org/

https://www.instagram.com/dkms_us/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/DKMS_us

https://www.facebook.com/DKMS.us/