September 07 2011

Kicking off a new $4 million Every Patient Counts!^SM campaign,
Be The Match Foundation^® is pleased to announce a lead gift of $275,000 from the Long Island Marrow Organization, its many supporters and its founder John Camiolo, a New York business leader.

Recognizing that uninsured costs can keep a life-saving marrow transplant out of reach for too many families, The John T. and Caryn Camiolo Fund for Patient Assistance will help patients with leukemia, lymphoma and 70 other life-threatening diseases afford the marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant they need.  Mr. Camiolo’s gift challenges the foundation to match the funds, dollar for dollar, within 18 months. 

“Unless you have a friend or a loved one in need of a marrow transplant, you have no idea the financial toll it takes on a family. It can be devastating even with insurance. Mr. Camiolo’s generous gift means more patients can focus on healing, and not on expenses,” said Christine Fleming, Be The Match Foundation president.

“It is my hope that this gift will encourage others to give,” said Camiolo, president of John James Benefits, LTD. “Patients and their families fight many battles along the marrow transplant journey and it’s an unfair fight. There are clearly physical and emotional battles. But those are made much worse by the loss of family income and a significant spike in uninsured expenses. That, I can do something about. That, we all can do something about.

“Patients and their families are away from home for months during transplant and recovery. We can make a tangible difference in their lives. We can help them with their daily meals, with prescription co-pays, with their travel and lodging costs. Patient assistance grants through
Be The Match Foundation do just that.”

“Mr. Camiolo’s challenge to others will help us reach out to the thousands of people who have benefited from the work of Be The Match and ask them to make a special gift,” Fleming said. “Be The Match touches so many lives whether it is through our national registry of potential marrow donors, our research that advances cellular medicine, our financial grants to patient families, or our training and education of marrow transplant physicians.”

Camiolo has a long history of supporting Be The Match and raising funds to add more potential marrow donors to Be The Match Registry^®. This Long Island business leader and founder of the Long Island Marrow Organization has raised more than $2 million and registered 20,000 potential marrow donors. As a result of the donor registry drives he sponsored, more than 35 patients have found their match and gone on to have a transplant.

Each year, 10,000 patients need a marrow transplant from an unrelated donor, but only half receive one.  Every Patient Counts! is a $4 million fundraising campaign that celebrates each life saved through marrow transplant but focuses on those patients still searching for help. The campaign targets the three barriers that can keep thousands of patients each year from receiving a marrow transplant:
• Affording transplant – even with health insurance
• Finding a matching marrow donor for transplant
• Developing complications that can keep a transplant out of reach

To learn more and give to Every Patient Counts! visit: www.BeTheMatch.org/counts or call Be The Match Foundation at 763-406-8700.