In 1955 Danny Thomas and a group of Memphis businessmen he'd rallied to build the hospital decided it should be more than a general children's hospital. At the time, the survival rate for childhood cancers was 20%, and for those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the most common form of childhood cancer” only 4% of children would live. They believed that St. Jude could help these families with nowhere else to turn. St. Jude would become a unique research institution where the world's best doctors and scientists would work together to cure childhood cancer, sickle cell and other deadly diseases.

And for families with children battling these diseases, Danny wanted to remove the burden of treatment costs so they were free to focus on their child.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opened its doors on February 4, 1962. Since then, they've made incredible strides in childhood cancer research. They've helped improve the survival rate of childhood cancer from 20% to 80%.

Today, St. Jude is a world leader in developing new, improved treatments for children with cancer, and they create more clinical trials for cancer than any other children's hospital. They freely share those breakthroughs, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.