DKMS in the UK: time to celebrate
On 19 February 2023, DKMS celebrates 10 years of operating in the UK.
The UK team is celebrating its 10th anniversary. A number of events are planned to mark the anniversary year, kicking off with a special patient-donor meeting in our offices.
Celebrations across the year
Donor patient meet
In 2016, Mark Jones donated his stem cells to Ivor Godfrey-Davies, who had been diagnosed with leukaemia. Fast forward seven years, and with Ivor now in good health, Mark and Ivor are excited about making their first face-to-face contact. Stephan Schumacher, UK's Interim CEO, will introduce them, before they cut a celebratory cake. All staff are invited to come into the office to be part of this emotional event.
Ten years, ten trees
Later in the year, we will be planting 10 trees, representing the decade that we have been recruiting potential stem cell donors in the UK. The trees are also in memory of those who we have lost, acting as a reminder that four in ten people with blood cancer or a blood disorder are unable to find a matching donor. Our work is needed now more than ever.
Timeline in the UK
For our digital audience, we will be creating a timeline to show our key achievements over the 10 years, including the first patient we helped and the first transplant centre we opened. This will help remind staff and supporters of our short but impactful history.
Meet our donors, patients and supporters
Each month of our anniversary year, we will be introducing you to a different member of our community sharing a little about their background, their relationship with DKMS and their hopes for the future.
DKMS - what does it mean to you?
On a more light-hearted note, we asked some of our supporters what alternative meaning ‘DKMS’ might have in English. We’ve had some amusing and inspiring replies so far, including ‘Donate Kindly My Stem-cells’, ‘Do Kindness and Miracles Start’ and ‘Driving Knowledge (about) Magnificent Stem cells’.
Can you think of anything better?
