March 13 2020
Updated March 18, 2020
At Be The Match, we believe there are unplanned moments in life that allow each of us to look deep within ourselves and act on our individual capability to provide exactly what’s needed at the time to give more life to others. In fact, that foundational belief drives the core of our mission: We save lives through cellular therapy.
Because even when life seems uncertain, we have the power to act and provide life-saving solutions. Together.
As you’re a part of this special community of people providing solutions for patients with blood disease and blood cancer, we want to let you know what Be The Match is doing to act in this time of uncertainty.
First, we’re closely monitoring the progression of worldwide activity surrounding SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. We have teams meeting multiple times daily to understand the latest updates so we can best support our community of patients, providers, donors, contributors and employees during this time. We’re committed to wasting no moment in our efforts to democratize cell therapy and provide equal outcomes for all patients.
As a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees, we’ve mandated a work-from-home policy for our Minneapolis Coordinating Center. This approach is focused on the hundreds of employees who arrive at the Coordinating Center every day to provide life-saving solutions to patients in need.
Be The Match is also working with patients and transplant centers to understand how we can best serve their needs during this unique time. Many patients are immuno-suppressed and need your support now more than ever. Here are three easy ways you can be a part of this life saving work today:
- Understand the latest COVID-19 information, so you can continue to play an active role in helping others. We’ve found the CDC Guidelines and Harvard Resource Center to be very useful locations for information.
- For those of you who are between the ages of 18 and 40, make sure you’re a part of the Be The Match Registry. If you haven’t already, sign up today.
- As travel is re-routed for donors who continue providing stem cell donations for patients about to receive a stem cell transplant, costs are rising. You can provide financial assistance to help with these rising costs here.
Finally, thank you for being a part of this life saving work. Patients continue to wake up and wonder, ‘What’s going to happen to me?’ Be The Match firmly believes we each have a unique capability to act – and we were made for this moment.
If you have additional questions, click here to view our FAQ page.
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 through its research program, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), so more lives can be saved. To learn more about the cure, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1 (800) MARROW-2.