World Blood Cancer Day 2022

What is World Blood Cancer Day?

World Blood Cancer Day 2022 is Saturday 28 May. This year, we celebrate 31 years since DKMS was founded in Germany, and the 11 million donors we have registered worldwide, including over 900,000 in the UK.

World Blood Cancer Day is also a reminder that there is more to do. We won’t stop until every patient who needs a blood stem cell donor can find one.

It is a time to spread the word and be heard.

Celebrate your ‘&’ connection

This year, our theme is the power of connection - our '&' - in the fight against blood cancer.

For most of us, connection is something we experience and enjoy in our day-to-day lives. Having a connection with our loved ones, our neighbours and our community makes us feel supported and fulfilled.

For someone with blood cancer, their connection, their ‘&' might be one of the most important connections they will ever make. Their ‘&’ might be someone they don’t even know, someone who is able to give them a second chance at life by donating their blood stem cells.

DKMS wants to help more patients, such as Peter, pictured above, find this special connection. Sadly many patients at the moment do not. This needs to change and we’re asking for your help.

Show us your own '&' connection

A sense of connection can be joyful, but for someone with blood cancer, it could be so much more. Help us raise awareness of this exceptional form of connection.

Join with us by showing us your own connections in the fight against blood cancer, using our World Blood Cancer Day filter.

Open our World Blood Cancer Day filter tap the thumbnail and post it on your social media. Please note the preview filter only works on mobiles:

• take a selfie with a loved one.
• save the photo to your phone.
• upload to social media using the @DKMSUK and #WBCD so that we can share your post
• if you would like to add some messaging, you could add ‘We are supporting World Blood Cancer Day on 28 May’.

Remember, the more photos we share, the more people will see, and the louder we will be heard!

Become someone's '&' connection

To register as a potential donor, click the red button below to request your swab kit. Why not encourage your friends and family to do so too!

Whether you send a quick message to your family group chat, talk to your friends, or email your colleagues, your action could save someone’s life - become someone's '&'.

Another way to help

You can also help by making a financial gift.

It costs DKMS £40 to send and process every swab kit. If you’re able to help cover this cost by donating whatever you can afford, it will help us to continue our vital work.

However you choose to get involved, you will be making a huge difference to people living with blood cancer and blood disorders.

Thank you.