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Good Morning America co-hosts Robin Roberts and Lara Spencer could not hold back their tears during Tuesday’s (Dec. 12) broadcast when former music exec David Geffen and billionaire philanthropist Ken Griffin pledged $400 million to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
MSK CEO Dr. Selwyn Vickers and Griffin joined the daytime talk show to announce the news, surrounded by patients and physicians from the center.
Spencer was already visibly emotional as she asked Griffin about the impact this donation could have on the center.
“It’s unbelievable the difference it will make in so many lives,” she said. She tried to collect herself as she continued, “Why was this so important for you to donate in such a large number that will make such a huge difference?”
Griffin replied, “All of us here dream of the day we end cancer… I’m certain MSK will play an important role in ending cancer in our lifetime.”
Roberts later noted, “I hope you feel the emotion from everybody that is here. There’s nobody that hasn’t been impacted, both personally with family and friends — it’s impacted everybody.”
Dr. Vickers called the donation, which is reportedly the largest single donation made in the hospital’s history, “transformative.”
The segment made many of those in the studio emotional. At the end of their interview, Roberts turned to the GMA crew and joked, “Our crew doesn’t have Kleenex for us? Tissues?”
She continued, “How can we do a segment like this and they don’t have any tissues for us? The one time!”
A spokesperson for MSK told Forbes that the money will be used to support the staff of 20,000 who work at the center, building “state-of-the-art facilities that will enable us to provide the very best care,” and further developing advanced technology.
In a press release announcing the record-setting donation, Geffen said, “I’m pleased to join my friend Ken Griffin in supporting the groundbreaking, patient-centered care at MSK. It’s our sincere hope that this combined gift will inspire others and enable MSK to continue to build on its reputation as one of the top cancer care providers and research centers in the world.”
Good Morning America airs weekdays at 7 a.m. ET on ABC.
