DKMS, an international non-profit organization dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, inaugurated the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit in memory of Mechtild Harf. The non-profit organization Sankalp India Foundation operates the new unit with the medical advice support of Cure2Children on the premises of the non-profit Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital (BMJH) in Bengaluru. This state-of-the-art facility will cater to treatment of about 120 children suffering from blood cancer or rare blood disorders such as Thalassemia, or Aplastic Anemia.

In its mission to improve the access to transplantation for patients in need, DKMS has funded the new BMT Centre with 5.46 Cr INR (~6,30,000 EUR / 7,40,000 USD). “The only effective way to address blood cancer and other life-threatening blood diseases is with a macro perspective. 30 years after our foundation, we are therefore expanding the scope of our activities: In addition to registering as many potential blood stem cell donors as possible, we extend our support to patients whose geographic location or socio-economic status impedes the access to transplantation. Our aim is to help build a better base for treatment and to reduce the financial burden on patients in need by contributing to the transplantation costs. It is a milestone for our organization that the BMT Unit in memory of Mechtild Harf opens its doors today for children in need,” says Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global Chief Executive Officer, DKMS.

“To help blood cancer patients in India and register more potential Indian donors, DKMS partnered with Bangalore Medical Service Trust (BMST) and was launched in 2019 as DKMS BMST Foundation India. The launch of the BMT unit is yet another step in our mission to raise awareness on blood cancer and provide patients with a lifesaving treatment,” adds Patrick Paul, CEO, DKMS BMST Foundation India.