Peter Bader joins as COO of new DKMS Access To Treatment entity

Advances in medicine have transformed treatment options for many patients with hematological diseases. Yet access to diagnostics, specialized care and potentially lifesaving stem cell transplantation remains highly unequal around the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

This is where our Access To Treatment activities come in. The newly established DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH, based in Tübingen, brings together and further develops the activities of our former Access to Transplantation department in a dedicated nonprofit entity. It is led jointly by Prof. Dr. Peter Bader as COO and Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of DKMS.

“Finding a matching stem cell donor can only become a second chance at life if the structures are in place to make treatment possible,” says Neujahr. “By strengthening these structures together with local partners, we want to help more patients benefit from medical progress, regardless of where they live.”

Expanding our commitment across the patient journey

The new name reflects the broader scope of our work. Depending on local needs, our support extends across the entire patient journey, from creating the prerequisites for treatment to transplantation and follow-up care.

Our activities currently focus on three main areas: free HLA typing to identify suitable family donors, financial support for stem cell transplantation, and diagnostics as well as capacity building. The latter includes investments in medical infrastructure as well as training and education for physicians and nurses.

Our long-standing collaboration with Sankalp India Foundation and Cure2Children in India demonstrates how these elements can work together. The partnership now spans HLA typing, patient funding, medical infrastructure, professional training and research. Since 2018, DKMS has supported the transplantation of more than 820 children treated through Sankalp. Our collaboration also includes the EMPACT training program for pediatric transplant nurses and a prospective clinical trial investigating improved protection against cytomegalovirus infection following stem cell transplantation.

Peter Bader brings decades of clinical and scientific expertise

With Prof. Dr. Peter Bader, an internationally recognized pediatric transplant physician joins DKMS Access To Treatment. From 2004 until 2016, Bader has headed the Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology program at the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospital Frankfurt, where he also served as Deputy Director. His research focuses, among other areas, on preventing relapse following stem cell transplantation and on innovative cellular therapies.

In 2025, the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) honored Bader with the Dietrich Niethammer Award for his outstanding lifetime achievements in pediatric stem cell transplantation.

“After many years in academic medicine, I want to use my knowledge and experience to help make therapies more accessible where options are still limited,” says Bader. “The key is to work with local experts to build structures that combine high medical standards with long-term sustainability.”

With the new entity, we aim to further strengthen this combination of patient care, local capacity building, knowledge transfer and research, and help create access to high-quality treatment for more patients.

Go to the “About” page of ATT.