Dr. Brigid McMillan’s encounter with a young patient battling HIV and lymphoma ignited her mission to close gaps in blood cancer care. Now, as the first South African to earn the John Hansen Special Research Grant, she’s mapping transplant services to drive healthcare equity.
Cape Town, 07 August 2025 - Dr. Brigid McMillan did not initially foresee that her journey in the medical field would lead her to confront a significant systemic gap. However, her perspective shifted when, as an early-career physician, she encountered a 15-year-old girl who was pregnant, newly diagnosed with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), and suffering from an aggressive form of lymphoma. This pivotal encounter ignited Dr. McMillan's enduring commitment to addressing the inequities within the healthcare system, particularly regarding access to critical care for blood cancers and disorders.
Now, Dr. McMillan is undertaking her most ambitious initiative to date. She was awarded the DKMS special grant and has become the first South African recipient of the esteemed John Hansen Special Research Grant. This funding will facilitate her comprehensive examination of all haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) services throughout the country.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Dr. McMillan will be looking at the key indicators like the availability of specialist staff, diagnostic laboratories, blood banks, radiology services, and transportation routes to determine how people access life-saving care for blood cancers and disorders.
“We use the term ‘transplant deserts’ to describe these areas with no real access to stem cell transplant services,” McMillan says. “And it’s not just about buildings or staff. It’s about systems. If a patient is diagnosed too late because of slow biopsy or scan times, or if they live too far to be followed up by a haematologist, they may never reach the point of receiving curative treatment at all.”
Her research project, now fully underway, uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to overlay the availability of diagnostic tools, treatment pathways, and even transportation networks, creating a national snapshot of where access exists, where it’s missing, and what can be done to bridge the gap. “It’s sensitive work,” she says. “We’re working with deeply personal data and stories. These are patients who often feel invisible in the system. The goal is to make them seen.”
The study is not only scientific but also deeply personal. As a woman in a male-dominated medical subspecialty, Dr. McMillan has had to navigate complexity both in the clinic and in the corridors of academia. “Being a woman doesn’t give me a superpower,” she reflects. “But qualities like humility, empathy, strength, and emotional resilience, those are essential in this field. And they’re often nurtured in women from a very young age.”
Still, it’s not just about who leads the work, but about who benefits from it. Black, Coloured, and Asian patients in South Africa are significantly underrepresented in the global stem cell donor pool. “For people of African descent, the chances of finding a donor are under 20%,” she notes. “For people of European descent, it’s over 80%. That’s not just a healthcare issue, that’s a justice issue.”
That injustice is what makes this moment, and this research, so critical.
For Palesa Mokomele, Head of Community Engagement and Communications at DKMS Africa, the stakes couldn’t be higher. “Dr. McMillan’s study is more than data; it’s a roadmap to transformation,” she says. “It helps us understand the real-life gaps in access, especially for the majority of South Africans who rely on public healthcare.”
Mokomele says that seeing a young woman lead a national study in such a technical and emotionally charged space is symbolic of the kind of change DKMS wants to champion. “Women like Dr. McMillan show us what it means to combine heart and science,” she adds. “Her work is rooted in care, equity, and the belief that every person deserves a chance to live, no matter their postcode, income, or ancestry.”
As the mapping continues, McMillan says it’s not just up to specialists or donors to move the system forward. “Awareness is the first step, and that’s something everyone can be part of,” she says. “Cheek swab registration takes minutes. But for someone out there, it could mean a second chance.”
This Women’s Month, join us for a 4-part video series on the DKMS Africa YouTube channel, where Dr. Brigid McMillan unpacks the science, the systemic barriers, and the quiet strength it takes to be a woman driving change in medicine.