Kumar Bahukhandi
Flix, a global travel tech leader and DKMS, an international non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancer and blood disorders, have launched a long-term partnership to raise awareness and drive stem cell donor registration across six countries.
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DKMS and Flix Join Forces to Inspire Lifesaving Stem Cell Donor Registrations
Through the collaboration titled “Your journey could save a life”, DKMS and Flix aim to make registration as a potential donor as accessible and seamless as possible. In India, specifically, travelers will see select Flix buses with DKMS’s signature red-painted headrests, a striking contrast to Flix’s iconic green. Each headrest displays a QR code linking directly to the DKMS Foundation’s virtual drive registration page. To further enhance visibility, standees and posters will also be positioned in Flix Bus lounges, creating multiple touchpoints for awareness and engagement. Additionally, travelers using onboard Wi-Fi on FlixBus and FlixTrain in Germany, Poland, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States will be guided to a dedicated landing page where they can begin the registration process with just a few clicks.
Every 27 seconds, someone somewhere in the world is diagnosed with blood cancer or a severe blood disorder. In India, a new diagnosis occurs every five minutes. While 30% of patients may find a matching stem cell donor within their family, the remaining 70% rely on unrelated donors, many of whom never find a match due to underrepresentation in donor registries. DKMS is working globally to diversify the donor pool to improve chances for all patients, especially those with rare genetic profiles.
A Shared Commitment to Social Impact
The campaign, leverages Flix’s international reach and digital infrastructure to promote awareness and action in six participating countries including India, Germany, Poland, Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Flix travelers are met with simple, actionable prompts at key digital touchpoints during their journey, making it easy to sign up as a potential donor in the midst of everyday life.
“Every journey has the potential to change lives for those who travel, and for those waiting for a second chance at life,” says Elke Neujahr, Global CEO of DKMS. “By partnering with Flix, we’re turning mobility into meaningful impact.”
“Through this partnership with Flix, we are reaching people in everyday moments and showing them how easy it is to take the first step toward saving a life. It’s a simple act that can make a real difference, not only for patients here in India, but around the world,” says Patrick Paul, Executive Chairman, DKMS India.
Andre Schwammlein, CEO of Flix, states, “This collaboration shows how technology, mobility and purpose can come together. Flix connects people every day across borders, and now we’re helping connect potential lifesavers with patients around the world.”
“This partnership demonstrates how innovation and purpose can work hand in hand. Flix brings people together across countries daily, and today, that same connection is helping bridge the gap between those willing to save lives and patients who need them across the globe,” says Surya Khurana, Managing Director, FlixBus India.
Who can register?
Anyone between the ages of 18-55 in general good health, with a BMI under 40, and not already registered, can sign up as a potential donor.
About DKMS
DKMS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancer and blood disorders. Founded in Germany in 1991 by Dr Peter Harf, DKMS and the organization’s over 1,300 employees have since relentlessly pursued the aim of giving as many patients as possible a second chance at life. With over 13 million registered donors, DKMS has succeeded in doing this more than 125,000 times to date by providing blood stem cell donations to those in need. This accomplishment has led to DKMS becoming the global leader in the facilitation of unrelated blood stem cell transplants. The organization has offices in Germany, the US, Poland, the UK, Chile, India and South Africa. International expansion and collaboration are key to helping patients worldwide because, like the organization itself, blood cancer knows no borders.
DKMS is also heavily involved in the fields of medicine and science, with its own research unit focused on continually improving the survival and recovery rate of patients. In its high-performance laboratory, the DKMS Life Science Lab, the organization sets worldwide standards in the typing of potential blood stem cell donors. With its international support programs, the organization improves the access to treatment for patients in low and middle-income countries.
About DKMS Foundation India
DKMS Foundation India is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders such as thalassemia and aplastic anaemia. The foundation aims to improve the situation of patients in India and across the world by raising awareness about blood stem cell transplantation and registering potential blood stem cell donors.
For more information, please visit www.dkms-India.org.
About Flix
Flix intends to transform the collective transport sector by offering sustainable and affordable long-distance bus- and train travel solutions in more than 40 countries across four continents through its brands FlixBus, FlixTrain, Kamil Koc, and Greyhound. With its asset-light business model and innovative technology platform, Flix, launched in 2013, swiftly established a market-leading position for long-distance bus travel in Europe, North America and Türkiye and is rapidly expanding further into South America and India.
Driven by increased awareness for sustainable travel, Flix is committed to achieving Net Zero operations in Europe by 2040 and globally by 2050. To assess its progress within a scientifically recognized framework, Flix established near-term targets for emissions reduction with the Science Based Targets initiative.
While Flix manages the commercial side of the business such as network planning, pricing, operations control, marketing and sales, quality management and continuous product development with a data-driven approach, trusted Flix partners conduct the daily operations. The innovative combination of Flix’s technology and sales platform with traditional passenger travel has turned a European start-up into a leading and globally expanding travel tech company.
