DKMS

DKMS
Formation 1991
Founder Peter Harf
Founded at Germany
Legal status Non-profit organization
Purpose Blood cancer awareness and donor registration for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Location
  • Germany, Poland, Spain, UK, US

DKMS is a non-profit advocacy group based in Tübingen that works to raise awareness of the need for donors for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which people with blood cancers need for treatment. It also helps people sign up with national bone marrow registries. DKMS was founded in Germany and as of 2017 had affiliates in the US, the UK, Poland, and Spain.

History

DKMS was founded in Germany in 1991 by Peter Harf, an executive with Coty, Inc..[1] His wife, Mechtild, had been diagnosed with leukemia, and while her cancer initially responded to drugs, she eventually needed a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSC) but none of her family members were a good match. Harf founded DKMS (German "Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei" or "German Bone Marrow Donor File")[2] to raise awareness of the need for donors in Germany and to help people to register with the German national bone marrow registry. He included the whole family including their 14 year old daughter Katharina in the effort. Within a year the number of registered donors in Germany increased from 3,000 to 68,000.[3] He continued building the organization afterwards.[3] Katharina eventually moved to the US to Harvard, worked for Louis Vuitton in New York City for a time, then started an MBA at Columbia University; she dropped out and instead founded the US affiliate of DKMS with her father in 2004.[3] The US affiliate also works to raise awareness of the need for donors, helps people register with the National Marrow Donor Program, and if needed will help pay for any health tests, medication and travel costs.[4][5]

In 2014 DKMS began promoting May 28 as World Blood Cancer Day to help raise awareness.[6][7]

That year it also began offering grants to support scientists working on diagnosis or treatment of blood cancers; each year it offers two people up to 80,000 euros per year for up to three years.[8]

The organization often uses celebrity endorsements and glamorous events to raise money and awareness.[1][3][9]

By 2017 DKMS had also opened offices in Poland, Spain and the UK.[3][10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Grinnell, SunHee (3 May 2012). "Coty Inc. and DKMS Go Star-studded to Save Kids' Lives". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Binder, Elisabeth (21 April 2016). "Leukämie: Die Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei - die längste Liste von Lebensrettern". Gesundheitsberater Berlin.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Cordes, Michaela (27 November 2015). "A Modern Heroine". GG Magazine.
  4. ↑ Sutterer, Anna (9 March 2017). "Bone marrow donation makes remarkable match". Vox Magazine.
  5. ↑ Patterson, Amy (26 November 2016). "A bone marrow match needed to save girl". Daily Journal Online.
  6. ↑ Mai, Andy; Greene, Leonard (23 May 2017). "Mets raise blood cancer awareness, honor heroic donors". NY Daily News.
  7. ↑ Wenk, Erik (28 May 2014). "Vor allem Polizisten wollen Knochenmark spenden". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German).
  8. ↑ Mechtild Harf Research Grants DKMS Page archived 8 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Rock star Mike Peters recruits bone marrow donors in US". BBC News. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  10. ↑ "Thousands sign up to save three-year-old Ava Stark". BBC News. 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
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