The new facility will be located in the Texas Medical Center at the 6700 block of Main Street, which housed the former Houston Medical Center Hotel. According to hospital officials, the center will include inpatient beds, ambulatory care and state-of-the-art research labs.
A sky bridge is also planned to connect the center to the Texas Children’s Hospital, according to a May 14 news release on the joint venture
The big picture
Texas Children’s and MD Anderson first announced their partnership in early February, stating the new collaboration is designed to:
- Expand care access for patients
- Combine pediatric subspecialty care and children’s cancer services to children under one program
- Grow pediatric cancer clinical trials
- Utilize more than 300 pediatric specialists from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson
- Provide pediatric oncology education programs to train additional professionals
“It’s what makes the most sense for our patients and their families,” Parsons said. “It’s an interesting opportunity for us to bring all of our minds and resources together to maximize strategy for our patients.”
MD Anderson and Texas Children’s officials said more details were not available at press time, including the specific number of beds, the project timeline or the total cost of the project.
About the hospitals
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at the Texas Medical Center is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston and is considered the largest of its kind in the world. The hospital invests heavily in cancer research, including clinical trials and prevention, and focuses on patient-centered care, according to the hospital's website.
- In 2024, the center served 187,000 patients
- Includes 760 inpatient beds
- Invested $1.3 billion in research last year
"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 cancer," he said.
- The hospital has a 4.9 million annual patient count
- 7,000 births happen annually
- Employs 2,000 medical professionals
"At Texas Children's, our team is committed to solving the unsolvable every day, and thanks to the Kinder Foundation and our collaboration with MD Anderson, we have the support to do so for many generations to come," she said.
Another focus of the joint venture will be research, which will prioritize generating more cures for cancer by accelerating drug development and clinical trial programs to address unmet needs for children.
Dr. Richard Gorlick, the division head of pediatrics at MD Anderson, said that with both institutions dedicated to one center, he believes researchers will be able to do more together by focusing on the problem as a unit.
“A goal to end childhood cancer—that’s a bold one,” Gorlick said. “That’s going to take all of us working together harmoniously.”
Parsons said he’s currently researching survivorship, and what challenges and side effects patients have after their battles against childhood cancer. He also researches drug development, cell therapy and precision medicine. Meanwhile, Gorlick said he researches bone cancer and identifies new therapies for the disease. Both researchers will continue their studies and trials at the new center.
Some context
Gorlick said he believes the Kinder Center is important to have in Texas because of how many young people there are in the state.
Texas had the second most childhood cancer cases nationwide from 2017-21, with an annual average case count of 1,081, according to State Cancer Profiles, a collaboration between the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Texas is a young state,” Gorlick said. “If you compare our state to many others, there are more young folks. Young folks are the most likely to have children, so there tend to be more children. This means there’s a huge population of patients who need our services.”
A $150 million donation from the Kinder Foundation served as the lead gift for the new cancer center facility, which will undergo a multi-year campaign to secure funds for the continuation of the project.
The Kinder Foundation is a nonprofit organization established by Rich and Nancy Kinder that focuses on providing grants for transformational community projects in the Greater Houston region. As of December, the Foundation has donated $621.4 million in grants, with 24.4% of those funds going toward the Kinder Children's Cancer Center.
Rich Kinder said the new center exemplifies the foundation’s philanthropic mission, and he expects it will reshape the future of pediatric care.
The Kinder Children’s Cancer Center will launch in 2026, with the first step of consolidating patient care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Radiation oncology will remain at MD Anderson, and adolescent/young adult programs will be provided at both institutions, according to the May news release.
The center will be governed by a board from both institutions; the number of members wasn’t available at press time. A search is also anticipated to begin soon to identify a physician and administrator to lead the center.
Parsons said the Kinder Children’s Cancer Center could be a game changer, believing these efforts will lead to a new era in childhood cancer treatment.
“The things that we are routinely doing now in our clinics—things that are standardly done for patients today— ... these things would have been science fiction when I was at medical school,” Parsons said.
