The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay.
Seeking treatment?
Our approach makes us different from most children’s hospitals. Learn more about seeking treatment for your child at St. Jude.
Our history
Founder and entertainer Danny Thomas opened the doors to St. Jude in 1962 with the dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life."
Why support us?
Unlike any other hospital, the majority of our funding comes from individual contributions. And thanks to generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude.
No child should die in the dawn of life.
Cost to family: $0
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Saving kids worldwide
St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
Our goal: 100% survival
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.
Our stories
Meet our patients, families, supporters, and staff and experience the innovative research, pioneering treatments and inspirational stories that happen at St. Jude every day. Experience our stories.
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My Corner of the World: Åsa Karlström, PhD
Read how Åsa Karlström, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, combines love of nature with meaningful work to create a home away from home in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Hospital’s growth inspires clinical research associate to share hospital’s history as tour guide
Read how a longtime employee is educating newcomers about the hospital.
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A Dream Realized: St. Jude employees share connections to hospital’s 57th anniversary
Learn more about the hospital’s origins through two employee stories.
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St. Jude employees show passion for giving by donating to Blood Donor Center
Learn how employees give back by donating blood to St. Jude patients.
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Working at St. Jude is one of my proudest accomplishments
Learn more about the role of Legal Services in hospital operations.
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Physicist finds meaning in numbers to enhance proton therapy treatment
Find out how medical physicists work with clinicians to ensure the effective delivery of proton therapy treatment.
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The sound of a legacy
For 30 years, Country Cares for St. Jude Kids has been led by country legend Randy Owen, and raised an astonishing $80 million along the way.
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Loving what you do is key to doing your best work
Learn how Sanjay Verma forged a successful medical technologist career.
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Meet Donovan
While Donovan has been undergoing treatment for medulloblastoma at St. Jude, his regimen has included proton therapy and chemotherapy.
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One family, two journeys
Raeleigh's mom brought her baby sister into the world on the same day that Raeleigh was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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Meet Mary Browder
When St. Jude patient Mary Browder was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, her family never believed she would get back to a normal life. Today, her diagnosis is just one part of her story.
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Cryo-EM: It’s a Small, Small World
Scientists in the new St. Jude Cryo-EM and Tomography Center zoom in on staggeringly small structures to better understand biological systems.
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Dawn of a New Era for Aggressive Brain Tumors
Relapsed brain tumors have been difficult to treat, but a new approach at St. Jude offers a ray of hope.
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Dance of the T Cells
A new therapy at St. Jude called CAR T-cell therapy holds hope for many children who have cancer that returns or is hard to treat.
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Science Alliance: Fighting PKAN Together
Married St. Jude researchers broaden their collaboration to develop a novel medication for pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), a life-threatening neurological disorder.
