Katharina Harf, COO, DKMS Americas, Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc., Heidi Klum, celebrity honoree. (PRNewsFoto/Coty, Inc.)

A sold-out crowd gathered at Cipriani Wall Street on April 26th for the DKMS 6th Annual Gala: Linked Against Blood Cancer. Bernd Beetz, CEO of Coty Inc. served as honorary chairman of the event. Katharina Harf, chief inspiration officer of DKMS Americas, hosted the gala, which once again broke records of previous years, raising $3.2 million to support the fight against blood cancer. Coty Inc., and DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, jointly raised the funds to support registering new bone marrow donors and help patients worldwide.

“The Coty family is passionate in its commitment to supporting DKMS and to saving lives,” said Beetz. “We are so proud that this year, thanks in part to the support of Coty employees, partners, and supporters, we were able to reach new heights of fundraising success.”

For more than two decades, DKMS has registered upwards of 3 million donors and helped save more than 30,000 lives around the world. Still, only six out of 10 people are able to find a matching donor.

During the gala, Beetz presented the “DKMS Linked Against Blood Cancer Award” to supermodel and Coty business partner Heidi Klum, for her “tireless charitable work,” which includes efforts to fight cancer.

For more information on the Coty-DKMS Linked Against Blood Cancer partnership, visit www.getswabbed.org.