DianeBWestchester County is teaming up with "Be The Match," a nationally known not-for-profit organization, to help those facing life-threatening blood cancers receive the bone marrow and blood transplants they need to survive. To raise awareness and money, the organization is hosting the "Be The Match Walk+Run" on Sept. 20 at South Street Seaport, Fulton and Front Street, in Manhattan.

The Westchester effort is being led by Diane Balistreri, a county employee and cancer survivor. Balistreri was diagnosed with leukemia in April of 2012. After submitting her blood protein information into "Be The Match's" database, she was linked with a donor in Germany and underwent a stem cell transplant in August of 2012. As a result of the procedure, Balistreri is currently healthy. A stem cell or bone marrow transplant can essentially be a cure for leukemia and lymphoma patients.

"I owe my life to a great many people – researchers, doctors, nurses, and most importantly, my donor," said Balistreri. "Without him, it would be hard to say what the state of my health would be right now. There is significant need in the donor bank for people of mixed races and nationalities since blood proteins are linked with national origin. The donation of cells for the bank is painless because it only involves a cheek swab. This gesture could potentially save someone's life and I see no more worthy cause than that."

"Be The Match" and its 11 million registered volunteers world-wide, helps provide patients diagnosed with blood cancers and other life-threatening diseases, a chance to connect with a matching donor. For these patients, transplants may be their best or only hope for a cure. However, 70 percent of patients in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family so they depend on the organization's services.

The "Be The Match Walk+Run" is one of the many family-friendly events that take place across the country to help raise awareness and funds for transplants as well as offer an opportunity to register more donors. The collection of stem cells is initially done via a mouth swab, so it is totally painless and non-invasive.

To register for the event, volunteer or donate, visit www.BeTheMatchWalkRun.org/NewYork. To join the "Be The Match" Registry, visit www.BeTheMatch.org. All those interested in participating in the walk are welcome to join Diane's team named DGB. The cost to register for the event is $30 for adult 5K ($35 for walk-up registration) or 1K, $15 for youth 1K (17 years and younger), $10 for tot trot (5 years and younger) and $25 for virtual fundraiser.

"Be The Match" needs your help to reach their $250,000 goal. Your donation can make the following impact:

  • $25 covers one clinic visit co-payment. Patients must visit the transplant clinic daily or weekly during the initial three to six months of outpatient recovery. Clinic co-pays can add up to $300 a month.
  • $50 covers two days of meals for a patient and their caregiver during outpatient recovery.
  • $100 covers the cost to add one potential marrow donor to the Be The Match Registry.
  • $250 covers 10 monthly prescription co-payments. Many patients take 20 or more medications per day during recovery - that's $500 in prescription co-payments each month.
  • $500 provides two weeks of temporary housing during recovery. If patients live more than an hour away from the transplant center, they are required to relocate and live nearby for the first three to six months of recovery. Many families spend $800 to $1,500 a month on temporary housing, while also covering a mortgage back home.

"Be the Match" also provides one-on-one support for patients, caregivers and families as well as clinical education for health care professionals and conducts research to constantly improve transplants and quality of life.