Partner for medical and healthcare professionals

Our services and our engagement in science and research

At DKMS, we believe the only effective way to address blood cancer and other life-threatening blood disorders is with a macro perspective. Originally founded as a non-profit donor center, our commitment today extends far beyond the registration of potential unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors.

With our international registry, the DKMS Registry, our DKMS Stem Cell Bank and our highly qualified research team, as well as our high-performance laboratory, the DKMS Life Science Lab, we are constantly on a mission to provide a second chance at life to even more people with blood cancer and blood disorders. To optimize our work and make hematopoietic stem cell transplants a lasting success for patients, we conduct our own research and invest in research projects and quality programs on an international level.

Our specialist departments continuously work to improve the situation for patients around the world and support professionals by providing excellent services, information and research findings. The safety of our donors is a top priority for all of us, all the time.

Moreover, to provide patients living in low- and middle-income countries with access to potentially life-saving therapy, we have set up various programs and activities to support them.

Our Story

It was the fate of one person that laid the foundation for a worldwide community committed to giving patients with blood diseases a second chance at life. As an international non-profit organization, DKMS is dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancer and other blood disorders. It was founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr. Peter Harf, one of the world’s most successful businessmen and loving father of two daughters. After losing his wife Mechtild to leukemia, Peter set about delivering on the promise he had made to her: to find a matching donor for every blood cancer patient. Since then, Peter and his daughter Katharina Harf, the Chairwoman of the DKMS Foundation Board, have kept that promise.

Today DKMS is the global leader in the facilitation of unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplants. We run offices in Germany, the US, Poland, the UK, Chile and South Africa. In India, we have founded the joint venture DKMS-BMST together with the Bangalore Medical Services Trust. Together, we have more than 1,300 employees, significantly contributing to the worldwide donor pool’s diversification by having registered more than 12.5 million potential hematopoietic stem cell donors. To date, DKMS has given more than 120,000 patients across the globe a second chance at life by facilitating hematopoietic stem cell transplants. In total, DKMS accounts for 35% of all unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donations worldwide.

1991

Founding DKMS

On 28 May, DKMS (Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei gGmbH) is officially founded in Tübingen, Germany.

1995

DKMS LIFE

DKMS LIFE gemeinnützige gGmbH (formerly: “Aktiv gegen Krebs”) is founded. Today it operates as a subsidiary of DKMS.

1996

First peripheral blood stem cell collection

DKMS is the first donor center worldwide to carry out the peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC) procedure for the collection of stem cells from the bloodstream.

1997

Founding DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden

DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden (Foundation for Giving Life) is founded and becomes the parent organization of DKMS.

1997

Founding DKMS Life Science Lab

DKMS Life Science Lab in Dresden (Germany) is founded and is part of the worldwide DKMS Group.

1998

Science Award

DKMS awards the annual Mechtild Harf Science Award for the first time to physicians who have done outstanding work in the field of stem cell research.

2004

DKMS US

The first international DKMS location (formerly DKMS Americas and Delete Blood Cancer DKMS) is founded in New York, US.

2008

Independence of DKMS Cord Blood Bank

The nonprofit DKMS Cord Blood Bank (now DKMS Stem Cell Bank) becomes an independent DKMS Group member.

2009

DKMS Polska

DKMS Polska is founded in Warsaw.

2013

DKMS UK

DKMS UK (formerly: Delete Blood Cancer UK) is founded in London.

2013

Clinical Trails Unit

DKMS establishes its own department for clinical research, the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), based in Dresden, Germany.

2018

DKMS Chile

In April, DKMS celebrates its foundation in Chile, Santiago de Chile.

2019

DKMS-BMST India

In June, the DKMS-BMST Foundation India is launched in Bangalore.

2020

DKMS and The Sunflower Fund

In May, The Sunflower Fund (in Cape Town, South Africa) and DKMS join forces in a partnership.

2020

DKMS Stem Cell Bank

In June, the DKMS Stem Cell Bank (formerly DKMS Cord Blood Bank) is established.

2020

DKMS Registry

In July, the nonprofit DKMS Registry gGmbH is founded as an independent subsidiary of DKMS.

2021

DKMS Africa

The Sunflower Fund partnered by DKMS becomes a full member of the international DKMS Group

2022

100,000 collections

DKMS donors gave a total of 100,000 second chances at life since the organization was founded.

2023

DKMS Collection Center

The first two DKMS Collection Centers are launched in Germany

Our Donor Center Locations

DKMS is active in seven countries on five continents, because international expansion and collaboration are key to helping patients worldwide: blood disorders know no borders – and neither do we.

Germany

DKMS Donor Center gGmbH
Headquarter
Kressbach 1
72072 Tübingen

DKMS Foundation
Ashburnham House
Castle Row
Horticultural Place
London, W4 4JQ

USA

DKMS USA
100 Broadway
6th Floor
New York, NY 10005

Poland

Fundacja DKMS
ul. Altowa 6/lok. 9
02-386 Warsaw

Chile

Fundación de Beneficencia Publica DKMS
Avenida Pedro de Valdivia 0193
(esquina Av. Andrés Bello)
Oficina 72
Providencia
Santiago

South Africa

DKMS Foundation NPC
Head Office
Block C, Grosvenor Square
Century Way
Century City
Cape Town, 7441

India

DKMS BMST Foundation India
New Thippasandra Main Road,
HAL 3rd Stage
Bhoomi Reddy Colony
Bangalore, India - 560075

Germany

DKMS Donor Center gGmbH
Headquarter
Kressbach 1
72072 Tübingen

DKMS Foundation
Ashburnham House
Castle Row
Horticultural Place
London, W4 4JQ

USA

DKMS USA
100 Broadway
6th Floor
New York, NY 10005

Poland

Fundacja DKMS
ul. Altowa 6/lok. 9
02-386 Warsaw

Chile

Fundación de Beneficencia Publica DKMS
Avenida Pedro de Valdivia 0193
(esquina Av. Andrés Bello)
Oficina 72
Providencia
Santiago

South Africa

DKMS Foundation NPC
Head Office
Block C, Grosvenor Square
Century Way
Century City
Cape Town, 7441

India

DKMS BMST Foundation India
New Thippasandra Main Road,
HAL 3rd Stage
Bhoomi Reddy Colony
Bangalore, India - 560075

Our Departments

Our Transplant Center Services (TCS) team aims to improve the patient’s situation by understanding the needs and challenges of physicians, registries, transplant centers, and search units worldwide.

It is not just the number of donors in our database that is important, but also the quality of our donor pool. Our HLA Services team ensures that our donor pool’s quality remains at the highest possible level, making us a global leader in this area.

Our Confirmatory Typing (CT) teams coordinate and arrange all necessary tests and checks when a donor is shortlisted as a potential match for a patient in need of a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. This is necessary to determine which donor is the most suitable match.

Once a donor has been identified as the best possible match for a patient in need of a transplant and the decision is made to proceed with a donation, our Workup teams are responsible for the next steps.

The health and well-being of our donors is our top priority. Our Follow-up and Donor–Patient Contacts teams (FU/DPC) are responsible for the post-donation care and follow-up for all our DKMS donors, as well as for any communication between the donor and patient.

The Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is the scientific research unit of DKMS. Many questions remain unanswered in the treatment of blood cancer and other diseases of the hematopoietic system. DKMS, therefore, promotes life-saving and innovative research in the field of blood cancer treatment.

Our Scientific Projects team is responsible for pursuing research questions regarding the large pool of registered donors with DKMS.

Our physicians work in various positions and provide medical advice and expertise to all DKMS departments.

Our Bioinformatics team’s goal is to ensure that donors are typed to the highest standard possible through specialized software development and are available for searches with the highest degree of accuracy.

View All

Our Scientific Projects team is responsible for pursuing research questions regarding the large pool of registered donors with DKMS.

Our physicians work in various positions and provide medical advice and expertise to all DKMS departments.

View all

Our Network

DKMS Group

DKMS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders – always with the purpose of providing as many patients as possible with a second chance at life.

DKMS Registry

The DKMS Registry makes donors from six of our donor centers available for international requests. Our experts provide information about their HLA characteristics to registries, search units and transplant centers around the world with the aim of finding the most suitable donor for patients as quickly as possible.

DKMS Stem Cell Bank

Originally established and still operating as a cord blood bank, our DKMS Stem Cell Bank is the first facility in the world which makes cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cells available for unrelated allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

DKMS Life Science Lab

Founded in 1997 and based in Dresden, Germany, the DKMS Life Science Lab became part of the DKMS Group in 2001. As the world’s leading HLA typing laboratory, our lab carries out typing according to the latest scientific standards and has achieved numerous milestones.

DKMS Collection Center

You can find all the important information you need for the upcoming preliminary examination and for the stem cell collection at the DKMS Collection Center here.

Collaborative Biobank

Established in 2016 and coordinated by our Clinical Trials Unit, the Collaborative Biobank (CoBi) is a cooperative science platform that provides resources for research projects in the field of blood cancer worldwide.