Mark’s legacy honored with $150K gift to Be The Match® from Living on the Go Foundation

Every patient faces physical and emotional challenges when battling blood cancers or blood diseases. As if that’s not enough, some patients also face financial barriers that can get in the way of their life-saving transplant.

Many find their insurance doesn’t cover all the costs associated with a transplant, including: the search for a donor or cord blood unit, travel and lodging when the transplant center is far from home, caregiver or patient lost wages, prescription co-pays, and more.

Living on the Go Foundation is passionate about removing these financial barriers to transplant to make access more equitable—just like their friend Mark Zimmer was. That’s why they’re honoring Mark’s legacy with a $150,000 donation to Be The Match to support patient assistance.  

Diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008, Mark battled the disease with intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments, stem cell transplants and isolated stays. Through it all, he never lost hope.

Mark learned to cherish the little moments, and with his incredibly generous and giving spirit, made it his mission to enroll other potential marrow donors to the Be The Match Registry® and make transplant available all patients in need.

Even though Mark passed away in March of 2016, his legacy of hope lives on. In 2021, Living on the Go donated $125,000 to Be The Match in honor of Mark. And this year, the foundation increased its support to $150,000 to make an even bigger impact.  

Mark’s loved ones remember his courage and optimism while battling cancer. He cherished the little moments and now, more patients have hope for life’s little moments with improved access to a life-saving transplant. 

“It has been almost six years since we lost Mark and we continue to celebrate him and his determination to help others fighting blood cancer,” shared Mark’s wife, Margie. “I still so clearly recall feeling a sense of relief and thankfulness knowing that not only did we have a perfect match for Mark, but also that it wasn’t going to be a financial burden on our family. Those two positives in a sea of unknowns really helped us get through the enormity of the situation.” 

Be The Match patient assistance program is funded solely through the philanthropic support of our life-saving community. If you’d like to join Living on the Go Foundation in supporting this program, please contact foundation@nmdp.org.