Skip to main contentSkip to footer![Katharina Harf and Elke Neujahr standing side by side on a modern staircase in a bright interior. The steps are made of wood and the banister is made of glass. Katharina Harf wears a dark red and navy dress, and Elke Neujahr a light green blouse with white trousers. They are smiling confidently at the camera.]( "Katharina Harf and Elke Neujahr standing side by side on a modern staircase in a bright interior. The steps are made of wood and the banister is made of glass. Katharina Harf wears a dark red and navy dress, and Elke Neujahr a light green blouse with white trousers. They are smiling confidently at the camera.")
![Katharina Harf, Chair of the Foundation Board and Global CSO of DKMS, smiles at the camera with her hair pulled back, wearing a red and dark blue patterned blouse.]( "Katharina Harf, Chair of the Foundation Board and Global CSO of DKMS, smiles at the camera with her hair pulled back, wearing a red and dark blue patterned blouse.")
![Portrait of Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of DKMS Group, standing in a bright office space. She is wearing a white blazer, a light sage satin blouse, a golden necklace and is smiling confidently at the camera. In the background is a bouquet of flowers on a office table, blue office chairs, and windows.]( "Portrait of Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of DKMS Group, standing in a bright office space. She is wearing a white blazer, a light sage satin blouse, a golden necklace and is smiling confidently at the camera. In the background is a bouquet of flowers on a office table, blue office chairs, and windows.")
Meet Our Foundation
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 Foundation Board and Global CSO of DKMS
Katharina Harf is Chair of the Foundation Board of DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden and Global Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of DKMS Group gGmbH. She also serves as Executive Chair of DKMS in the United States and has been closely involved in the strategic development and international expansion of DKMS for more than two decades.
"This has been and always will be personal for me. My mother's memory will remain with me forever and will continue to fuel my effort to bring hope to families like mine because at the end of the day, that's what this is about. Our 13,5 million donors are more than just some large, abstract number. They are 13,5 million reasons for hope. For one family out there, searching for a life-saving match for their loved one, our donors represent one simple thing: the possibility that there is one person that could make all the difference."
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.
Discover DKMS
Learn more about DKMS - who we are and what we do.
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