DKMS is a non-profit advocacy group 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.
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History
DKMS was founded in Germany in 1991 by Peter Harf, an executive with Coty, Inc.. 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") 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. He continued building the organization afterwards. 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. 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.
In 2014 DKMS began promoting May 28 as World Blood Cancer Day to help raise awareness.
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.
The organization often uses celebrity endorsements and glamorous events to raise money and awareness.
By 2017 DKMS had also opened offices in Poland, Spain and the UK.
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See also
- African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (UK)
References
External links
- DKMS Germany website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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