Just over a year ago, international nonprofit DKMS began putting plans in motion to open their first southeastern location in Charlotte. The nonprofit is dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders.
“When looking for our new DKMS US headquarters in the southeast, Charlotte immediately stood out to us; not only is this city developing rapidly, but the diversity of the community, the population and business opportunities made Charlotte an easy yes,” Chief Executive Officer Dr. Elke Neujahr said. “Charlotte truly is a big city with a small town feel, and that is just what we need to further our mission of giving as many second chances at life as possible through blood stem cell donations. We look forward to working with the people and the many businesses located in Charlotte and invite everyone to support our fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders by signing up as a potential donor.”
DKMS hosted their Charlotte grand opening in early September and has hired more than a dozen team members. Their sights are now set on building relationships in the Charlotte community and working with area employers and partners to host donor registration events.
Head of Community Engagement and Development Sandy Barnett shared that “by hosting a DKMS swab event, companies can connect their employees with impact that will change lives here in Charlotte and around the world. By registering as a blood stem cell/bone marrow donor you have the ability to give a blood cancer patient a second chance at life.”
To date, DKMS has facilitated more than 101,000 second chances at life across the globe and is the world’s largest donor center with more than 11.5 million potential lifesavers. By engaging with DKMS, you will be helping thousands of patients each year who seek to find their “genetic twin” from the pool of unrelated donors.
Companies can engage with DKMS by hosting a donor registration or swab event at their location. DKMS has a donor recruitment team available to facilitate an event, and can train personnel within a company. DKMS also has the capability to host a virtual drive online so that employees who work from home or at locations across the U.S. can participate by ordering their swab kit by mail. If an employee is matched with a patient needing a transplant, DKMS takes care of all the medical arrangements and expenses and can facilitate donor-patient meetings with the host company once the transplantation is successful and all parties are in agreement. Please contact Sandy Barnett to learn more, sandy@dkms.org or call 646-864-4389.
