The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital announced a $150 million gift from Kinder Foundation. The transformational gift creates Kinder Children’s Cancer Center, a joint venture of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital, with a single mission: to end childhood cancer.
The gift is one of the largest philanthropic donations made to an American pediatric hospital and one of the largest in the history of the Texas Medical Center (TMC). With this extraordinary support, Kinder Children’s Cancer Center aims to be the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cancer center focused exclusively on children. The center will be based in a new facility centrally located in the TMC on the 6700 block of Main Street in Houston.
“Our philanthropic efforts center on supporting transformational projects in Houston, and this initiative exemplifies that mission in every way,” said Rich Kinder, chairman of Kinder Foundation. “We were deeply impressed by the extraordinary leadership and unwavering commitment of both UT MD Anderson and Texas Children’s to pursue a bold, collaborative model of care. It is a rare and powerful moment when two leading organizations come together to create something entirely new – something capable of reshaping the future of pediatric cancer care. We are honored to contribute to what we believe will be a world-renowned center of excellence. This collaboration is not only a gift to Houston, but to families everywhere who face the unimaginable.”
The generous support of Kinder Foundation will serve as the lead gift for a multi-year campaign to secure funds for the new facility and for breakthrough pediatric oncology research and patient care. This unprecedented investment and collaboration are a testament to the unwavering commitment by both institutions to end childhood cancer.
Kinder Children’s Cancer Center will launch in early 2026, with plans to build a new TMC facility with inpatient beds, ambulatory care and state-of-the-art research labs. Plans are for Kinder Children’s Cancer Center to be connected by a sky bridge to Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the nation. Designed from the ground up and purpose built with children and families in mind, the center will provide specialized oncology care in a healing environment, uniting scientific innovation and clinical excellence to close the gap between research and real-world impact for children facing cancer.
“All of us at Texas Children’s are profoundly grateful for the incredible generosity of Rich and Nancy,” said Debra F. Sukin, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Texas Children’s. “This historic gift is a testament to the vision and future impact of our groundbreaking collaboration with UT MD Anderson and our shared mission of eradicating pediatric cancer. Our state-of-the-art facility will expand access for children in need of the most advanced care, accelerate clinical research, education and training and ultimately create a comprehensive program equipped to lead the global fight against childhood cancer. At Texas Children’s, our team is committed to solving the unsolvable every day, and thanks to Kinder Foundation and our collaboration with MD Anderson, we have the support to do so for many generations to come.”
Combining the collective scale and complementary expertise of the nation’s largest comprehensive pediatric health system with the nation’s top cancer center under one roof, Kinder Children’s Cancer Center will work to generate more cures by accelerating drug development for childhood cancer patients using UT MD Anderson’s powerful clinical trials engine and industry relationships. This collaborative effort will improve access for children in need of specialized cancer care, ensuring children with cancer can live rich, full lives and move into adulthood free of cancer.
“We are immensely grateful to Rich and Nancy for their support and for trusting UT MD Anderson and Texas Children’s to bring this vision to life. Aligned with our mission to end cancer, we are proud to work with Texas Children’s to build what will be the world’s preeminent children’s cancer center,” said Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of UT MD Anderson. “Kinder Children’s Cancer Center will become a global destination for comprehensive childhood cancer care and survivorship, transforming how children and their families experience diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. We know families will find comfort and hope in knowing that these two leading health care organizations are joining forces to focus exclusively on children’s cancers.”