30 years – Enabling more second chances at life

Campaign

24/05/2021

Camera and… action! We’re looking forward to a ground-breaking day in the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders – a day that will receive more public attention than usual. We’re talking about 28 May 2021. It is the day we turn 30. And itis also World Blood Cancer Day (WBCD). So for us, it is an important opportunity to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all of our donors, patients and supporters and invite them to join us in sending out a message of solidarity.

30 Years of DKMS

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Live Stream

Established in Germany in 1991 as a result of a personal tragedy suffered by Peter Harf, we are now a global database network with more than 10.7 million registered donors in seven locations across five continents. We are the global leader in the procurement of stem cell donors for patients around the world, and our DKMS donors have enabled more than 92,000 patients in 57 countries to have a second chance at life.

“We very much wanted to involve all our donors and all the people who have been so important to our mission in our celebration of this milestone in the history of our non-profit organisation,” Dr. Elke Neujahr, Managing Director and Global CEO

Our motto: We celebrate life every day

As a special thank you to everyone, we will be streaming our virtual jubilee event live from Cafe Moskau in Berlin. The show starts at 7.30 pm and will last about 90 minutes, shining a light on patients, donors, and companions as they tell their highly personal and moving stories. Your host for the evening will be Matthias Killing. Please note, the safety of our guests is of prime importance so we will be taking all relevant precautions required due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m pleased to invite you to our virtual DKMS Jubilee Show on 28 May 2021, in which we’ll be hearing from our companions, celebrity ambassadors, supporters and experts from the last 30 years,” Dr. Elke Neujahr.

You can watch the livestream event on 28 May on this webpage. There is no need to sign up. Just tune in. We look forward to entertaining you. This webpage is also where you can find all the latest updates on our schedule. So get ready for an amazing, touching, and highly emotional evening!

World Blood Cancer Day – 'Your Heroic Journey'

28 May is World Blood Cancer Day (WBCD), and this year the focus is once again on informing and educating people. In particular, we want to introduce young people to the all-important topic of stem cell donations. This will allow us to offer even more patients a second chance at life in the future.

For the first time, we had planned an interactive exhibition on the topic, entitled 'Your Heroic Journey'. But owing to the Covid situation, it has had to be cancelled, and all WBCD activities will be taking place online.

Find out more at: www.worldbloodcancerday.org.

Graphic showing a smiley face with 30 for eyes and the text "Milestones in the history of DKMS"

In 1991, DKMS was officially established by Peter Harf and Gerhard Ehninger.

In 1992, Richard Becker became the first DKMS Donor. In 1995, DKMS became the worlds leading blood stem cell donor registry.

In 1998 DKMS completed their 1,000th donation. In 2003, DKMS passed the 1 million registered donors mark

In 2004, DKMS established its first overseas branch in the US. In 2007, DKMS began testing donors for their HLA tissue type and distributing kits online.

In 2009, DKMS opened their second international office in Poland. DKMS UK opened in 2013.

In 2015, DKMS's 50,000th donation took place in Cologne. In 2016, the 6 millionth donor was registered.

In 2018, DKMS opened an office in Chile.

In 2019, DKMS opened an office in India. The daily tally of stem cell donations reached 20 for the first time.

In 2021, DKMS opened an office in South Africa. The 90,000th blood stem cell donation facilitated by DKMS took place.

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