Honoring a Pioneer in Pediatric Cancer Care at the 2025 RMH-NY Gala
Going Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH-NY) will proudly "Go Gold" in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as we gather for the RMH-NY’s Annual Gala at the stunning Cipriani Wall Street on September 30th, 2025. This year’s event brings a truly historic milestone: the presentation of the inaugural Medicine Gives Hope Award to a man whose life's work has changed the course of pediatric cancer care across the globe — Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly.
A visionary physician, scientist, and mentor, Dr. O’Reilly is an Emeritus Member and former Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), where he also served as Chief of the Pediatric and Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Services. In truth, those titles barely scratch the surface. To the countless families he’s impacted — and to all of us at RMH-NY — Dr. O’Reilly is a giant whose compassion is matched only by his scientific brilliance.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and MSKids: Where Excellence Begins
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is one of the world’s most renowned cancer institutions, consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation for oncology. Within its walls, the Pediatric Program — also known as MSKids — has become a beacon of hope for families facing the unimaginable. MSKids is not only the largest program of its kind in the country, but also one of the most innovative, blending groundbreaking research with deeply compassionate care.
At MSK, clinicians and researchers work hand-in-hand to deliver therapies that are often years ahead of their time. The institution’s partnership with Ronald McDonald House New York has been instrumental in this mission, allowing children and their families to remain close to care, cutting-edge clinical trials, and one another.
As Dr. O’Reilly’s career took shape, so did the environment of excellence and empathy at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
The Origin of a Calling
Dr. O’Reilly’s career began at a time when telling a parent their child might survive leukemia was, believe it or not, considered unethical. “There were no cures for leukemia. That’s what I was told,” he recalls. Yet his response was not despair, but determination. He joined MSK in 1973 and quickly established its bone marrow transplant program, laying the foundation for a revolution in pediatric cancer treatment.
In collaboration with immunogeneticist Bo Dupont, Dr. O’Reilly performed the first unrelated bone marrow transplant — a groundbreaking procedure that changed the field forever. “We were able to identify a lovely lady who lived in Copenhagen to give a bone marrow transplant to a young baby from Ohio,” he remembers with quiet pride.
Today, 75% of all bone marrow transplants at MSK are from unrelated people, supported by over 3.1 million volunteer donors worldwide — a legacy Dr. O’Reilly helped build with his own hands.
The House That Hope Built
While Dr. O’Reilly was transforming cancer treatment at MSK, another revolution was brewing on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The original RMH-NY House on East 86th Street opened its doors thanks to the vision of Vivien Harris, whom Dr. O’Reilly calls “magical… a real force of nature.”
As MSK developed novel and more intensive therapies, the hospital embraced the idea of a day hospital, where children could receive care during the day and return to their families at night. It was a seismic shift from the old model of extended hospitalizations that often fractured families. But this new freedom created a challenge: Where could families stay while their child underwent treatment?
Dr. O’Reilly paints a vivid picture of the early days: “I can remember going out and talking to a variety of different churches. If the churches had a spot where the pastor lived, could the kid live there?”
Enter Ronald McDonald House New York.
With RMH-NY, families no longer had to knock on rectory doors. They had a home away from home — one that would grow, expand, and adapt to meet the needs of cutting-edge therapies and the families who came to seek them.
What is a “Day Hospital” and Why Does It Matter?
The day hospital model, pioneered by MSK and supported by RMH-NY, allows children seeking cancer care to receive chemotherapy, transfusions, and other intensive treatments during the day — and return to their families at night.
This innovative care design helps keep families together, preserves childhood routines, and minimizes the emotional toll of hospitalization. But it only works if families have a place to stay nearby. That’s where RMH-NY shines.
As medicine moves forward, so does the House — evolving not just by meeting families’ needs, but by anticipating them.
Post-Transplant Suites and a New Standard of Care
One of Dr. O’Reilly’s most meaningful collaborations with Ronald McDonald House New York was championing the creation of post-transplant suites — specially designed ultra-clean environments where immunocompromised children can safely recover alongside their families for the three to six months following a major transplant. These suites make it possible for children to leave the confines of a hospital room and begin reclaiming a sense of normal childhood, surrounded by the comfort and support of family, during one of the most critical stages of healing.
“I pushed the board really hard,” he admitted with a smile. “But the board… went right after it.” What began with two suites has grown to six. “That facility is spectacular,” he says. “It has shown itself to be worthwhile in that regard, because in real terms, the number of patients who have had any kind of infection [when staying in one of these suites is really, really small.”
The result? Faster recoveries. Shorter hospital stays. And something far harder to quantify: peace of mind.
From Lab Bench to Living Room
One of the most striking aspects of Dr. O’Reilly’s legacy is how seamlessly he bridges bench science and bedside care. Whether leading teams that introduced T-cell depleted transplants, pioneering CAR T-cell therapy, or spearheading virus-specific T-cell treatments for post-transplant infections, his work has consistently translated to real-world impact.
And that impact doesn’t stop at the hospital door. “There’s nothing more disconcerting to parents than the feeling of being alone,” he says. “Oftentimes… they’re almost ostracized.” At RMH-NY, he’s witnessed how families connect, counsel one another, and draw strength simply from being together.
Neuroblastoma: A Triumph Told in Reunions
One of the most emotional highlights in Dr. O’Reilly’s long career came through MSK’s groundbreaking work in neuroblastoma — a historically lethal disease. Thanks to the development of humanized monoclonal antibodies by MSK’s Dr. Nai-Kong Cheung, the tide began to turn.
RMH-NY enabled families from around the world to access these therapies — and the results were extraordinary. “All of a sudden, we have these kids getting these antibodies, doing well,” Dr. O’Reilly says. “We had a reunion… and 400 kids showed up.”
Even Jackie Robinson’s widow was moved. “She said, ‘I was so impressed. The kids seemed so fine.’ I said, ‘Yeah. Can you pick out the kids who had neuroblastoma?’ No. That’s ideal.”
Saving Sight, Restoring Childhood
Another of Dr. O’Reilly’s proudest collaborations came in the fight against retinoblastoma, a childhood cancer of the eye. The standard treatment had long been eye removal. But Dr. David Abramson at MSK changed everything with a technique for delivering chemotherapy directly into the ophthalmic artery.
The early days weren’t easy. “Literally, I would have had calls weekly from certain other centers… the heads would say, ‘You should put Dr. Abramson in jail,’” O’Reilly recalls, deadpan.
But the results were undeniable. Kids kept their eyes. Many kept their vision. And thanks to RMH-NY, international families — especially from China and South America — could access this game-changing therapy during its developmental phase.
The House That Built Medicine
Without RMH-NY, many of these innovations might never have made it from concept to cure. As Dr. O’Reilly explains, “You might be able to afford to get here, but the therapy is one thing. The more important thing is the cost of just existing — just extraordinarily exorbitant.”
With families able to stay close by — affordably, safely, and surrounded by others who understand — medicine could grow. Trials could succeed. Hope could flourish.
And that hope, Dr. O’Reilly believes, plays a vital role in healing. “Ronald McDonald House New York allows many patients who have these diseases to actually get the kind of treatment and the kind of follow-up that they need to do well,” he says. “I have no doubt of that.”
By the Numbers: Dr. O’Reilly’s Legacy
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450+ published scientific papers.
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3.1 million+ bone marrow donors in global registry.
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75% of all transplants at MSK now use unrelated donors.
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6 ultra-clean post-transplant suites at RMH-NY.
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25%–30% of all U.S. neuroblastoma cases treated at MSK.
A Rose for Every Night: A Lesson in Compassion
Among the many remarkable stories Dr. O’Reilly has shared, one of the most touching came from the earliest days of his time at Memorial Sloan Kettering — not about a medical breakthrough, but a small act of tenderness.
“My mom had cancer,” he shared. “And all I can remember was my mom saying, ‘Oh, the nurses are lovely here, and there’s this wonderful woman who comes by and leaves a rose on my table at night.’ That was Mrs. Rockefeller.”
This simple gesture left a lasting impression. For Dr. O’Reilly, it illustrated the heart of the institution he would go on to help shape: a place where excellence in medicine was matched by excellence in humanity. From the top of the board to the people cleaning the rooms, the ethos of MSK was — and remains — driven by purpose and compassion.
“That was just extraordinary,” he said. “It’s more of a vocation than it is a job. You meet on a regular basis the best in humankind.”
On the Shoulders of Giants — And Electricians
Some of Dr. O’Reilly’s most heartfelt reflections aren’t about molecules or white blood cell counts, but people — all kinds of people — united in a shared mission.
He tells a story of a transplant from Denmark nearly derailed by an electrician strike and a bone marrow shipment stuck in customs. “Really, doctor?” the team said. “That’s an important thing to take care of.” And they did.
From Mrs. Rockefeller placing roses on his mother’s nightstand to janitors asking after patients by name, he’s never lost sight of what sets Memorial Sloan Kettering — and RMH-NY — apart.
Healing Through Connection
In discussing the true value of Ronald McDonald House New York, Dr. O’Reilly emphasized not just the clinical impact, but the emotional strength it offers families. “The kids just keep going,” he said. “I’m sure in a lot of ways, the kids are going to be the same, but they may also be a lot less antsy when they go to sleep at night, because mom and dad are.”
He also reflected on the unintended isolation that many families face when their child is diagnosed with cancer. “They’ll have one or two close friends who will stand by them, but oftentimes, a lot of people who were their friends will stand away because they’re worried about their own child, and they don’t want to think about those things.” The House breaks that isolation and replaces it with community. Families who have just arrived talk with families returning for checkups years after treatment. That shared experience, says Dr. O’Reilly, “eliminates the loneliness factor… particularly for the patients who live far away.”
He also noted how this impact extends beyond oncology, as RMH-NY increasingly supports children with rare genetic disorders, hemophilia, and other life-altering conditions: “This is going to be, I think, a part of daily medicine which really makes the medicine much less burdensome on the family and on the character of the family.”
What is the “Medicine Gives Hope” Award?
Launched in 2025, the Medicine Gives Hope Award honors a medical pioneer whose work has transformed care for children and families fighting cancer and other serious illnesses. It celebrates not only clinical excellence but also the humanistic, compassionate spirit that drives healing forward.
Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly is its first and most fitting recipient.
Looking Forward, Eyes Wide Open
Even as he moves through his Emeritus years, Dr. O’Reilly is far from done dreaming. With a spark in his voice, he talks about gene editing, tumor-specific antigens, and CRISPR breakthroughs. “Would I give my teeth to be 30 years younger right now?” he muses. “The answer is yes.”
A Legacy Etched in Lives
As RMH-NY honors Dr. Richard J. O’Reilly with the first-ever Medicine Gives Hope Award on September 30th, 2025, it will be more than a ceremony — it will be a celebration of every child who’s gone home stronger, every family who’s found support, and every future made possible by his work.
“I’ve been extremely lucky,” he reflects. “Not for lack of abilities [elsewhere], but it’s lack of will. And we’re lucky to have it.”
Indeed, we are.
Join us this September at Cipriani Wall Street as we honor a legend, a healer, a mentor — and above all, a man whose life has been one long, fearless answer to a very hard question: “What can we do to make it better?”
Because, in the words of Dr. O’Reilly himself: “That’s been the calling card of Memorial. We are going to make it better.”
Join Us in Making Every September—and Every Day—a Source of Hope
As Childhood Cancer Awareness Month unfolds this September, your support can help families keep fighting with dignity, connection, and comfort at Ronald McDonald House New York (RMH‑NY):
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Stay Connected
Visit rmh‑newyork.org to learn more about RMHNY’s services like private family rooms, post‑-‑transplant suites, wellness programming, transportation, and emotional support for families from around the world
CONNECT
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Donate or Give in Honor
Your donation enables daily meals, enriching activities, educational support, and so much more—helping kids be kids first, patients second
GIVE
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Volunteer or Adopt a Room
You can offer hands-on help and heartfelt connection, or participate in RMH‑NY’s “Adopt‑the‑House” program to provide a stable, compassionate environment for families during the most difficult times
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Spread Awareness
Share stories, fundraisers, and messages of hope on social media using #GoGold and #CCAM—help RMH‑NY keep the conversation alive beyond September
TELL EVERYONE
