American Boy Returns from Brazil to Meet His Life-Saving Bone Marrow Donor

New York (October 4, 2017) – The Icla da Silva Foundation will hold its annual Hope Gala – a fundraising benefit to support patients in need of a bone marrow transplant – on October 18, at Guastavino’s in New York City.  This year’s Gala celebrates 25 years of the organization saving lives.

At the celebration, Tancrede Bouveret, a 13 year-old American boy and former leukemia patient, will meet for the very first time the bone marrow donor who saved his life. Tancrede, born in California and living in Brazil, developed Myelodysplasia Syndrome (MDS) in 2015, and was told by doctors that he would need a bone marrow transplant to survive. Without a match in their family, they made a plea to the public to help them find a matching marrow donor.

Tancrede’s two fathers were able to gain the support of the local community, and his story caught the attention of Brazilian celebrities, including renowned footballers Kaka and Neymar. The family’s prayers were answered in July 2015, when he received a marrow transplant from a young woman from Madison, Wisconsin. It was The Icla da Silva Foundation that initiated the donor search in the United States that resulted in the match. The two have waited over a year to meet for the very first time at the Icla da Silva Hope Gala.

The The Icla da Silva Foundation has been responsible for the registration of over 500,000 potentially life-saving bone marrow donors.  Since inception, the Foundation has facilitated more than 600 bone marrow transplants and assisted over 2,000 patients and their families with emotional, logistical and financial support.

At the Hope Gala, the Foundation will honor Dr. Jeffrey Chell, CEO Emeritus of Be The Match, with the Legacy of Hope Award, and East River Medical Imaging, a medical diagnostic imaging center based in New York City, with the Healthcare Leadership Award for their support of the Foundation and dedication to better healthcare.

This year’s Hope Gala is co-chaired by Tânae and Claudio Braz Ferro, and Renata and Claudio Garcia. Both Mr. Ferro and Mr. Garcia are executive leaders from AB Inbev.

The Event
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
6:30PM | Cocktail Reception and Silent Auction
7:30 | Dinner and Dancing
Black Tie Optional
Click here to find more information, make a donation, and RSVP

The Venue
Guastavino’s
409 East 59^th Street
New York, NY 10022

About Icla da Silva

The mission of the Icla da Silva Foundation is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors and providing support services to children and adults with leukemia and other diseases treatable by marrow transplants.  The Foundation was created in memory of a 13-year-old Brazilian girl named Icla da Silva.  After two years of fighting leukemia, Icla passed away in New York City, where she came hoping to receive a necessary life-saving treatment: a bone marrow transplant. The young girl never found a matching donor.  The Icla da Silva Foundation is 501(c)3 nonprofit.
www.icla.org
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