DKMS gGmbH - Most Valuable Non-Profit Response

Company: DKMS gGmbH, Tübingen, Germany
Company Description: DKMS is an international nonprofit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer. We create awareness, recruit blood stem cell donors to provide people with a second chance at life, raise funds to cover donor registration costs, and support the improvement of blood cancer therapies through our own research. Today, more than 10 Mio donors are in our database.
Nomination Category: COVID-19 Response Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Most Valuable Non-Profit Response

Nomination Title: Cancer doesn't stop for COVID, neither does DKMS.

More than 10 million people in Germany, the USA, the UK, Poland, Chile, India and South Africa are registered as potential donors with DKMS. Almost 90,000 of them have already actually donated stem cells. In addition to donor protection, the primary goal in the corona crisis is also the secure transport of life-saving stem cells to transplant clinics worldwide.

As a non-profit organization, we organize the collection of stem cells from our donors 21 times a day and transport the life-saving medical cargo to hospitals at home and abroad - together with close partners who make a valuable contribution to the fight against blood cancer. In Corona times, too, DKMS does everything in its power to supply blood cancer patients worldwide with transplants and relies on a network of helping hands, committed people and partners.

24/7 in action: The DKMS workup team ensures that blood cancer patients all over the world receive the right stem cell donations. Every week, the team receives up to 180 orders from clinics for patients around the globe. The team coordinates every stem cell donation - from request to transport.

At the heart of it all: our international donors. We rely on the unwavering support of our more than 10 million registered donors, who continue to donate every day despite lockdowns and restrictions.

Worldwide commitment: Stem cell couriers are working non-stop to transport the transplants. Among them are DKMS employees as well as professional helpers from our courier partners Ontime Onboard Courier GmbH and time:matters GmbH.

Life chances on board: cargo pilots help: We cooperate with cargo airlines. The life-saving shipments are safely stowed either in the cockpit or directly behind it in a separate container. Lufthansa Cargo and LATAM Cargo, both of which support this initiative, cover routes between the U.S., Europe and South America.

International community: Together with World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA), EBMT (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantationdem) and NMPD (National Marrow Donor Program/USA), DKMS was able to convince European and American authorities to allow exemptions for couriers entering and leaving the country.

The Corona pandemic has presented DKMS with one of the greatest challenges in its nearly 30-year history. And yet, 2020 has been a successful year for blood cancer patients around the world whose lives we are fighting for: Despite closed borders, cancelled flights and postponed on-site registration campaigns, DKMS has doggedly continued its vital work and provided 7,500 life chances worldwide. In addition, it has succeeded in reaching out to the donors of tomorrow via digital channels: In the "Corona Year 2020," more than 400,000 people registered with DKMS in Germany. This is around one third fewer than in the previous year.

The health crisis has fundamentally changed the work at DKMS. But despite the greatest challenges, we have identified new opportunities and initiated many positive changes. We have become even more digital and flexible. By joining forces, we have managed to reliably supply blood cancer patients around the world with vital stem cell preparations throughout the crisis - even across closed borders. Despite a disproportionately higher organizational effort and almost daily new guidelines with regard to lockdowns, travel, overnight accommodations and safety precautions, it has been possible to accompany the unwaveringly committed donors in all cases until their collection. In 2020, 5,600 stem cell collections took place in Germany alone with DKMS donors by the end of the year. 845 transplants reached their respective patients by air via "Cargo in the Cockpit" by the end of November. The pilot of a cargo flight acts as a courier and hands over the stem cells at the destination airport to specialists who bring the valuable cargo to the transplant clinic. This solution was developed by DKMS in cooperation with airlines and courier services when fewer and fewer passenger flights were available.

Already at the beginning of the pandemic, the DKMS actively counteracted the feared massive drop in new registrations: Although all on-site registration campaigns had to be suspended until the end of the year to protect the population, DKMS immediately and successfully transferred the patient campaigns to the digital space. 425 such virtual registration campaigns have taken place since mid-March 2020.