| WHAT: | Transplant patients unable to participate in the March 1st Walk+Run will don racing bibs and walk the halls of Baylor University Medical Center to celebrate life-saving transplants made possible by bone marrow and cord blood donors found through Be The Match and to bring awareness to the need for donors. |
| WHO: |
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| WHERE: | Baylor University Medical Center, T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital, 3535 Worth St., Dallas; Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, 7th floor |
| WHEN: | 4-5 PM, Wednesday, February 19, 2014 |
Patients at Baylor University Medical Center who cannot attend the Be The Match Walk+Run, to celebrate marrow donation, are lacing up their shoes.
They'll hold their own walk – down the hallways of the hospital – to celebrate the Be The Match® registry, their donors, physicians, nurses and staff, and their second chance at life. The event will take place on February 19, 2014, 10 days before the official Be The Match Walk+Run, which will be held on March 1, 2014, at Lone Star Park.
"Thousands of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases are in need of a donor for a marrow or cord blood transplant," said Dr. Edward Agura of Baylor Dallas. "For a chance to survive, these patients need healthy marrow or blood cells, often from an unrelated donor from the Be The Match Registry.
"This walk through the halls of the hospital allows us to celebrate the life-saving transplants many of our patients have undergone, while also highlighting the importance of and need for future donors," Dr. Agura said.
More than 10,000 in the United States are diagnosed every year with a disease that can be treated with bone marrow transplant. For many patients with blood cancers like leukemia and other serious diseases of the blood, immune or metabolic system, a bone marrow or cord blood transplant is their best hope for a cure. Most patients (about 70 percent) do not have a marrow donor in their family and must rely on Be The Match® to find an unrelated donor. Be The Match Registry® is the world's largest and most diverse listing of volunteer marrow donors and umbilical cord blood units in the world.
During the Baylor University Medical Center's in-house 'walk+run,' patients will walk with physicians, nurses, staff and caregivers around the inpatient unit and outpatient clinic. They will also sign "Messages of Thanks" to the supporters walking and running for all bone marrow transplant patients on Saturday, March 1. Those messages will be on display at the Be The Match Walk+Run at Lone Star Park.
Be The Match Walk+Run raises funds to add more donors to Be The Match Registry, help patients with uninsured treatment costs, and support research to improve the outcomes of bone marrow transplantation, giving more patients hope for a cure.
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About Be The Match®
For people with life-threatening blood cancers — like leukemia and lymphoma — or other diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match connects patients with their donor match for a life-saving marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. People can contribute to the cure as a member of the Be The Match Registry®, financial contributor or volunteer. Be The Match provides patients and their families one-on-one support, education, and guidance before, during and after transplant.
Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1-800-MARROW-2.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kristine Hughes, Baylor Health Care System
Kristine.Hughes@BaylorHealth.edu
(214) 820-7556
Andrea Ward, Be The Match
award@nmdp.org
(281) 770-8889
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com