World Blood Cancer Day - 28th May

DKMS World Blood Cancer Day is a global awareness day dedicated to the fight against blood cancer, held annually on May 28.

Every 27 seconds, someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer. Blood cancer refers to defects in the blood-forming system, which cause cancer cells to enter the bloodstream and multiply uncontrollably, crowding out the healthy cells. This means the blood can no longer perform its tasks, such as oxygen transportation and defense against germs.

Depending on the level of maturity of the blood cells in which these changes take place, doctors distinguish between three main groups of blood cancer, each of which has many sub-types: leukemia, multiple myeloma and malignant lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes). Blood cancer therefore refers to various diseases of the blood-forming system. For many people diagnosed with blood cancer, a blood stem cell donation from a matching donor is their only chance of survival.

In order for the transplant to have the greatest chance of success, the tissue characteristics of the donor and the recipient should match almost exactly. This means finding a suitable donor can be challenging – currently, only 6 out of 10 people globally find a match. DKMS therefore aims to register as many potential donors as possible, in order to give everyone in need of a stem cell donation a second chance at life.

Key Facts

Every 27 seconds, someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer.
Over 10.5 million people worldwide are registered as potential blood stem cell donors with DKMS.
Every day, DKMS helps give an average of 21 people in need of a blood stem cell donation a second chance at life.
4 out of 10 people in need of a blood stem cell donation worldwide are still unable to find a matching donor.
75% of all blood stem cell donations enabled by DKMS are sent abroad, to give people in other countries a second chance at life.
Blood stem cell donations from DKMS donors have given people in 54 different countries around the world a second chance at life.
Every year, over 70,000 people in need of a blood stem cell donation search globally for a matching donor outside of their family.
Just 39% of all potential blood stem cell donors registered with DKMS are male, but men account for 71% of actual donations.

Find out more: worldbloodcancerday.org