Cheek Week

2022-2023 INFO
COMING SOON!

What is Cheek Week?

Cheek Week was launched in 2020 to help increase the number of ethnically diverse donors on the Be the Match Registry®

The recruitment efforts of Cheek Week strive for equal access to cellular therapy for everyone. Cheek Week is a combination of in-person and virtual events held annually in July to support African American Bone Marrow Awareness month.

Taking place in regions selected for their diverse culture, heritage and impactful African American communities, we’re on the ground educating and registering new potential donors. Together, we can save lives.  

Our Mission: 
We save lives through cellular therapy

Over the past 30 years, we’ve facilitated more than 115,000 transplants by recruiting potential blood stem cell donors and matching them to patients in need. Blood stem cell transplants can potentially provide a life-saving cure for patients with sickle cell anemia, blood cancers and other deadly diseases because of the donation of healthy blood stem cells.

 

Cheek Week Events

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This Month

Latest Past Events

Be The Match at Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center

Join Be The Match for an evening of entertainment. Enjoy the stage play It’s All About Me. Registration required. Register at asertsc.wixsite.com/play2. For more info: email:asertsc@gmail.com | (770) 733-5172

Be The Match @ Hunter Glen Park

Hunters Glen Park 1340 Independence Blvd, Missouri City

Help Camille find a match to cure her diamond-blackfan anemia. Join us at Hunter’s Glen Park for a swab-a-thon drive thru. You could be a match.

Be The Match @ Rhodes Jordan Park

Rhodes Jordan Park 100 E. Crogan St., Lawrenceville

Help MJ find a match to cure his leukemia. Join us at Rhodes Jordan Park for a swab-a-thon drive thru. You could be a match.

Join The Registry From
Anywhere – At Anytime

No matter where you are in the world,
you can save a life!


Be The Match For…

A searching patient could be waiting for you – specifically you – to  join the registry today

Joshua

Joshua’s Story

Thirteen Year Old – Searching Patient

Elise

Elise’s Story

31 Year Old, Searching For A Match

Camille

Camille’s Story

Twenty One Year Old Looking for a Match

I SWABBED BECAUSE…


You Can Increase the Odds

Patients are most likely to match a donor who shares their ethnic background.

Black and African American patients have a 29% chance of finding a matching, available donor on the Be The Match Registry.  More Black and African American donors are needed to help increase the odds.

Will you join the Be The Match Registry and potentially save a life?


Black or African American

29%

White

79%
Four smiling women of many ages and ethnicities stand with arms around one another looking at the camera

Support for Bone Marrow Transplant

We are dedicated to helping you get the support and information you need to learn about your disease and treatment options, prepare for transplant and thrive after transplant.  

Be The Match Foundation®—Funding the Cure

Be The Match Foundation raises critical funds to advance the mission of Be The Match which is to save lives through cellular therapy. With the public’s philanthropic efforts, we can drive diverse recruitment to the Be The Match Registry, support patients and their families with uninsured costs related to transplant and fund life-saving research to reduce post-transplant complications. 

  • $25 raised covers one clinic visit co-pay for a transplant patient. 
  • $50 covers the cost of one swab kit and donor typing to ensure the best possible donor match for a patient.
  • $200 adds another potential life-saving ethnically diverse donor to the Be The Match Registry—helping us grow and diversify the registry so EVERY patient can find their life-saving match.
  • $300 provides tools and support for a research scientist to pursue new discoveries to prevent and treat post-transplant complications.
  • $500 secures one week of temporary housing during transplant recovery. If patients live more than an hour away from the transplant center, they’re required to relocate nearby for the three to six months of recovery. 
  • $2,000 covers one transplant recovery grant awarded to help families with uninsured and ongoing costs after transplant.  

Atlanta community members are saying YES to supporting Be The Match even after joining the registry. You can say YES too. Learn how you can get involved in this life-saving work in your own community.

Slightly smiling Black woman with blue eyeshadow
Donna, marrow transplant and financial grant recipient

Start Saving Lives

Join the Registry

Want to Help Even More?

Sign Up to Learn How Else to Get Involved