Image of Esha smiling at camera

Esha found her perfect match, could you be a lifesaver for someone in your community?

Become a donor

Our story

Did you know that you have the potential to save a life? At DKMS we are passionate about matching potential lifesavers with people with blood cancer and blood disorders that need a second chance of life.

Our story began with one family’s fight to save someone they loved. When Peter Harf found out that his wife Mechtild would need a lifesaving stem cell transplant in 1991 he founded DKMS to help find her a match. In one year, DKMS managed to expand the registry from 3,000 donors to 68,000. Sadly, despite the Harf family’s best efforts, Mechtild passed away before a lifesaving match could be found. However, Peter’s promise to her that he would not stop fighting until every patient had a matching donor lives on through us.

In 2022, DKMS are still working tirelessly to keep Peter’s promise to his wife. We are devoted to finding a perfect match for every patient that needs our help. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult for patients with a diverse ethnic heritage to find a matching donor. With just 2,000 Jewish donors signed up to the UK register currently, we are dedicated to growing that number so every patient who needs a perfect match can find one.

Underrepresented

The Jewish community are heavily underrepresented on the stem cell register. Just 13% of those on the register come from minority ethnic backgrounds and only 2,000 of those donors are Jewish.

Make a gift
Each new potential donor costs us £40 to register. You can help cover our costs by making a gift today.

Ready to become a potential lifesaver? Join the register now