DKMS launches new organization for better access to treatment

Tuebingen, October 1, 2026 – Today’s modern therapies give people with blood cancer and other disorders of the blood-forming system a chance of a cure. Yet access to diagnostics, treatment, and potentially life-saving stem cell transplantation remains highly unequal around the world. DKMS, the world’s largest stem cell donor database and an internationally active non-profit organization, has been working for many years to improve access to modern treatment options for people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). With the “DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH”, newly founded as of October 1, 2026, and based in Tübingen, DKMS is now consolidating, intensifying, and expanding this commitment within a dedicated non-profit organization. The new organization will be led by the Managing Directors Professor Peter Bader, who will serve as Chief Operating Officer, and Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of the DKMS Group. As an internationally recognized expert, Peter Bader headed the Stem Cell Transplantation division at the Departement of Pediatrics, Frankfurt University Hospital, Germany, for more than two decades.

“Where a person is born still has a major impact on their chances of survival from blood cancer and other disorders of the blood-forming system,” says Dr. Elke Neujahr. “A matching stem cell donation can only become a second chance at life if we create the structures needed that make treatment possible.”

The new DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH continues and further develops the tasks and programs of the previous “Access to Transplantation” department of DKMS Group gGmbH. The new organization takes a broader approach, focusing on the entire patient journey. Depending on local needs, DKMS supports patients and partners from the conditions needed to enable treatment through stem cell transplantation and follow-up care.

The work of the new DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH focuses on three areas: free HLA typing to identify suitable family donors, financial support for stem cell transplantation, as well as diagnostics and the expansion of treatment capacity. This includes investments in medical infrastructure as well as the training and professional development of physicians and nurses.

“We are breaking down barriers and, together with our local partners, creating the conditions for people to receive the treatment they need,” says Professor Bader, an internationally recognized expert in pediatric stem cell transplantation. “After decades in academic medicine and research, I will now use my expertise specifically where opportunities have so far been limited. What matters is building high-quality medical structures that are sustainable in the long term.”

Local solutions for local needs

The support needed differs from country to country. Barriers range from treatments costs and limited diagnostic options to insufficient treatment capacity, and a shortage of specialized medical staff. That is why DKMS works closely with local hospitals and non-profit organizations to develop solutions tailored to local conditions.

DKMS’s long-standing collaboration with the Sankalp India Foundation and Cure2Children in India shows how this can work. Today, the collaboration spans free HLA typing, financial support for transplantations, medical infrastructure, professional training and research. Since 2018, DKMS has enabled the transplantation of more than 820 children treated at BMT units operated by Sankalp.

Beyond enabling treatment, a key priority is to strengthen medical quality and expertise for the long term. Together with Sankalp and Cure2Children, DKMS is involved, among other initiatives, in the EMPACT program (EBMT Middle-Income Countries Pediatric Advanced Care Training). The two-year training program equips nurses with specialized expertise in pediatric stem cell transplantation, helping to build local capacity and strengthen the quality of care. Research will also play an increasingly important role: in a joint prospective clinical study, DKMS and Sankalp are currently investigating how children can be better protected against a potentially life-threatening cytomegalovirus infection following stem cell transplantation [1].

Experienced transplant physician at the helm

Professor Peter Bader is an internationally recognized expert in the field of pediatric stem cell transplantation. From 2004 to 2026, he headed the stem cell transplantation and immunology division at the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine of University Hospital Frankfurt, where he also served as deputy medical director. His scientific work focuses, among other areas, on preventing relapse after stem cell transplantation and on innovative cell therapies. In 2025, the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) honored his life’s work in the field of pediatric stem cell transplantation with the Dietrich-Niethammer Award.

1 Study information in the official registry: Clinical Trials Registry, CTRI/2025/06/088638. Open-Label, Prospective, Multi-Center, Single-Arm, Academic Clinical Trial of Oral Valganciclovir (VGCV) as Pre-Emptive Therapy for ‘Low-Risk’ Cytomegalovirus Reactivation Following AlloHCT in Children. Clinical Trials Registry – India; registered June 11, 2025 https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?EncHid=MTMzNTAz&Enc=&userName=

Professor Peter Bader, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Managing Director of the new DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH. © Farideh Diehl/University Hospital Frankfurt

Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of the DKMS Group and Managing Director of the new DKMS Access To Treatment gGmbH. © Julia Steinigeweg/DKMS

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