DKMS Group

Our Mission

Our organization is dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders by: creating awareness, recruiting hematopoietic stem cell donors to provide a second chance at life, raising funds to match donor registration costs, and supporting the improvement of blood cancer therapies via our own research.

We also support patients from day one of their diagnoses, providing family and friends with a positive way to get involved by organizing on-site as well as virtual stem cell donor drives that can enhance your donor search, rally community support and provide hope.

What we do:

• We create awareness of blood cancer diseases and treatments.
• We recruit stem cell donors to give a second chance at life to those in need of a stem cell donation.
• We engage the public as well as companies to organize on-site and virtual donor registration events.
• We raise funds to increase the size and diversity of the worldwide pool of available stem cell donors.
• We help to improve the treatment of diseases of the hematopoietic system – through our research and state-of-the-art technology in our laboratory.
• We support groundbreaking research projects by providing annual grants for talented young scientists in the field of cell therapy and transplantation.
• We honor outstanding physicians and scientists who have dedicated their lives to advancing the understanding and development of cell therapy and transplantation.
• We maintain our donor relationship from day one of registration until stem cell donation.
• We support patients and non-profit organizations in low- and middle-income countries to increase the access to transplantation for patients in need.

Executive Team

The overall direction and strategy of the international DKMS Group, including our international expansion, is led by our Global Executive Team, which is based in Germany. Each separate DKMS entity is managed and led by their local executive teams.

Chief Executive Officer

In 2018, Elke Neujahr rejoined a cause that had long been close to her heart by becoming Global CEO of the DKMS Group, as well as Executive Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Directors in the US and Chairwoman of the Board in Poland and South Africa. With a doctorate in communication sciences, Elke has served national and international executives as an expert in all questions of corporate reputation, and crisis and change management. Initially holding a variety of positions in the industry, Elke ultimately switched to the consulting side of the corporate communications business. She has been Partner and CEO of a leading European PR consultancy before she successfully ran her own company for 15 years. With her 40 years of expertise in general management, she drives the development of the DKMS Group.

As the Global CEO, Elke oversees all DKMS operations and the organization’s continued international expansion. In addition to these duties, Elke is also acting in tandem with Katharina Harf as the Interim Managing Director for DKMS US. Furthermore, she is Managing Director of DKMS LIFE.

Chief Information Officer

Julia Pingel joined DKMS as a scientific project manager in 2010. From 2011 to 2016, she headed the HLA service and was responsible for bioinformatic development and the general HLA data quality of the DKMS entities. From 2019 to 2021, she was responsible for the DKMS Group's information and technology services (ITS). Since 2014, Julia built up the DKMS Registry, where she currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Julia studied physics in Germany and France and obtained her doctorate in physics for life sciences at the Université Joseph-Fourier in Grenoble, France. She has been involved in numerous projects of the World Marrow Donor Association and other community bodies over the past ten years.

Chief Financial Officer

Bernd Weinel has joined DKMS in 2023 as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. He oversees finance and accounting as well as the administration and management of the DKMS entities.

Bernd studied business administration at the Goethe University Frankfurt and thereafter working many years in international companies including several years in Spain.

He brings many years of experience as an interim manager for outstanding assignments in the areas of Finance, Controlling, M&A and Restructuring as well as CFO and Finance Director in the medical technology, media, consumer goods, manufacturing and chemical industries.

The DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden

The DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden was founded in 1997 and exclusively and directly pursues non-profit and charitable purposes.

It unites a network of organizations that form an international community against blood cancer. The foundation is the sole parent company of the DKMS Group gGmbH.

The DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden ensures compliance with the company's purpose and decides on the objectives and strategic guidelines for the DKMS Group gGmbH and the other subsidiary organizations DKMS Donor Center gGmbH, DKMS Stem Cell Bank gGmbH, DKMS Life Science Lab gGmbH, DKMS Registry gGmbH and DKMS Collection Center gGmbH worldwide.
The foundation has three governing bodies: the Foundation Board, the Board of Trustees and the Medical Council.

The Foundation Board is responsible for strategic ideas, suggestions and visions that provide impetus for the operational business. The management of all organizations under the umbrella of the foundation report to the Foundation Board.

The Foundation Board is advised by the Foundation Council and the Medical Council, which provides the decisive impetus for the medical strategy to defeat blood cancer.

The purpose of the foundation is:

• to support individuals who, as a result of their physical, mental or emotional condition, are dependent on the help of others,
• promoting science and research in the field of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation,
• promoting public health and public health care, and
• promoting vocational training in the field of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.

Tasks and objectives:

• Measures and support for facilities to improve patient care (care and aftercare),
• recruiting and supporting informed volunteers who are willing to donate bone marrow or stem cells for the purpose of a transplant,
• developing and maintaining systems that facilitate and accelerate the search for female donors with the aim of finding compatible donors for bone marrow or stem cell transplants,
• Financial support for accompanying scientific research on bone marrow or stem cell donation with unrelated donors using histocompatibility testing methods, on stem cell expansion and on gene therapy,
• Measures and funding of institutions for vocational training in the field of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, in particular medical specialists, hospital staff, search coordinators, staff of donor files and registries, scientists, geneticists, medical ethicists and laboratory personnel.
• Promoting cooperation between all institutions that work in the field of the foundation's purpose,
• public relations to achieve the foundation's purpose.

Members of the Foundation Board

Katharina Harf, Chair of the DKMS Foundation Board

Katharina Harf, and her father Peter Harf (founder of DKMS) opened the first international DKMS location in the United States in 2004, after Katharina's mother and Peter's wife Mechtild Harf died of leukemia in 1991. She is now fighting for the further expansion of DKMS with unconditional dedication.

Dr. Elke Neujahr, Vice Chair of the Foundation Board and Global CEO of DKMS

Dr. Elke Neujahr has been Global CEO of DKMS Group gGmbH and Chair of the Management Board of DKMS Donor Center gGmbH since 2019. She also plays various roles at international level on the supervisory committees of the DKMS Group companies.

Members of the Board of Trustees

Dr. Peter Harf, Founder of DKMS

DKMS's story begins with a family tragedy and the fight for the life of a loved one in 1990. For Mechtild Harf, a bone marrow transplant was the only chance of beating her leukemia. In the face of this challenge of finding a “genetic twin” for his wife, her husband Peter Harf took the initiative himself: he decided to dedicate his entrepreneurial spirit to the great goal of improving the chances of survival for his wife and others affected. On May 28, 1991, Peter Harf founded the DKMS, but despite all the efforts of the family and their numerous helpers, Mechtild unfortunately did not survive her illness. But she made her husband promise to keep fighting – until every patient received a suitable donor. Peter Harf has remained true to this promise together with his daughter Katharina.

Viktoria von Wulffen, Member of the founding family

Viktoria von Wulffen lives in Vienna and is a mother of six children. Family is especially important to her. She herself lost her mother, Mechtild Harf, to leukemia in 1991. This tragic fate prompted Viktoria's father, Peter Harf, to establish the DKMS as a legacy to his beloved wife. Viktoria von Wulffen is also involved in other projects for cancer patients and in child and youth welfare.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Klingebiel, Long-standing consultant to the DKMS

Prof. Dr. Thomas Klingebiel was Director of the Clinic for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the University Hospital Frankfurt of the Goethe University from 2000 to 2021. The Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine also includes the divisions of pediatric oncology, hematology and hemostaseology and the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Center Frankfurt; it is considered one of the best in Germany. Since July 1, 2021, he has been managing director of the Frankfurt association “Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt e.V.”.

The Medical Council

The Medical Council advises the Board of the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden on medical matters, monitors developments in the relevant medical field and initiates scientific programs.

The committee nominates the annual winner of the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award. It also recommends and approves candidates for the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant. The committee is made up of experienced individuals from the fields of medicine, science and healthcare.

Prof. Dr. Marcel R.M. van den Brink, Chair of the DKMS Medical Council

Medical oncologist with extensive experience in clinical research, particularly in strategies to improve allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). He is Chair and Chief Medical Officer of the City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles, one of the largest cancer research and treatment centers in the United States.

Laurence David Atlas

Laurence David Atlas is a senior executive and attorney, special counsel to the Office of General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, an independent U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.

Dr. Marcelo Fernández-Viña

Dr. Marcelo Fernández-Viña is a Professor in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University Medical School. He is also the director of the Histocompatibility, Immunogenetics and Disease Profiling Laboratory. Dr. Fernández-Viña has been working in the fields of histocompatibility and immunogenetics since 1982. He has published more than 220 publications, many of which focus on HLA variation in different world populations. The main focus is on identifying susceptibility and resistance factors for diseases, as well as the effects of HLA mismatches in allogeneic transplants.

Prof. Dr. Katharina Fleischhauer

Prof. Dr. Katharina Fleischhauer studied medicine in Bonn and was a research associate at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for four years. From 1992 to 2013, she worked at the Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele in Milan, most recently as head of the Institute for Immunogenetic Diagnostics and Research. Since October 2013, Prof. Fleischhauer has headed the Institute for Cell Therapy Research at the University Hospital Essen. There she mainly researches T-cell alloreactivity in allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Dr. Katharina Fleischhauer is the winner of the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award 2016.

Dr. Stephen J. Forman

Stephen J. Forman is the Dr. Francis & Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Chief, Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles. He received the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award 2019 for his outstanding achievements in the fields of cancer immunology, hematology, stem cell transplantation and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer was the director of the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology and Infectiology at the University Hospital Frankfurt for over 20 years and has extensive clinical experience in the inpatient and outpatient treatment of all hematological/oncological and internal diseases. Prof. Hoelzer is one of the most renowned hematologists and specialists in the field of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In 2017, he was awarded the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award.

Dr. Carl H. June

Dr. Carl H. June is a pioneer in the field of immunotherapy and is best known for developing T-cell therapy for cancer. His work led to the development and introduction of Tisagenlecleucel, the first FDA-approved cell therapy. He is currently the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2020, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. In 2023, the DKMS awarded him the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award for his outstanding achievements in the field of cancer immunology.

Prof. Dr. Emma Morris

Prof. Dr. Emma Morris is Professor of Clinical Cell and Gene Therapy at University College London (UCL) and Director of the NIHR UCLH/UCL Biomedical Research Centre Inflammation, Immunity and Immunotherapeutics Research Programme, as well as Co-Chair of the UCL Cell, Gene and Regenerative Medicine Therapeutic Innovation Network. She has been an advisor since 2002 and has led her own research program since 2005. Her research group focuses on new aspects of immunotherapy of hematologic malignancies and inherited immunodeficiencies, particularly on cell and gene therapy and more recently on genome editing (gene editing).

Prof. Dr. Thomas Klingebiel, Guest

Prof. Dr. Thomas Klingebiel was Director of the Clinic for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the University Hospital Frankfurt of Goethe University from 2000 to 2021. The Clinic for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine also includes the main areas of paediatric oncology, haematology and haemostaseology and the Paediatric Stem Cell Transplant Centre Frankfurt; it is considered one of the best in Germany. Since July 1, 2021, he has been managing director of the Frankfurt association “Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt e.V.”.

For the DKMS (permanent guests):

Dr. Peter Harf (Founder of DKMS), Katharina Harf (Chair DKMS Foundation Board), Dr. Elke Neujahr (Global CEO), Prof. Dr. Johannes Schetelig (Director Clinical Research of CTU)