COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS · AUSTRALIAN EXTERNAL TERRITORY
Joining a stem cell donor registry from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are an Australian external territory. People who live here meet Stem Cell Donors Australia’s two tests: living in Australia and being eligible for Medicare. Checked .
Stem Cell Donors Australia
The registry’s rules say you must live in Australia. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are an Australian external territory.
| Region | Australia and New Zealand, Oceania 15 |
|---|---|
| Population | About 593 (2021) 14 |
| Registry | Stem Cell Donors Australia (Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry) 1 10 |
| Who can join | Ages 17 to 35, listed until your 60th birthdayStem Cell Donors Australia asks every new donor whether they live in Australia and are eligible for Medicare, and takes people aged 17 to 35. Citizens and permanent residents of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory, are eligible for Medicare, Services Australia says. 2 3 11 |
| How you sign up | From the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, joining at home would mean enrolling online and waiting for a posted cheek swab kit, which Stem Cell Donors Australia says may currently take 6 to 8 weeks to arrive; the registry says nothing about posting kits to the islands. 1 |
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Stem cell registries are also called bone marrow registries.
What we checked
- Where you live: the registry asks whether you live in Australia, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are an Australian external territory.
- Medicare: Services Australia says citizens and permanent residents of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are eligible for Medicare for services provided in Australia.
- Posting a kit: the registry posts its free swab kit, and says kits may take 6 to 8 weeks to arrive at the moment.
What you can do today
Visiting the mainland? People aged 18 to 35 can also join when they give blood at a Lifeblood donor centre.
Learn what donating involves. Most people who join are never asked to donate. If you are, the registry arranges and pays for your travel. What donating stem cells is like
What happens after you join
Join online.
Answer three short questions, fill in the form and choose the home swab kit.
Give your sample.
Swab your cheeks with the kit the registry posts you, and post it back.
You’re on the registry.
Your tissue type is recorded under a donor number. People searching for a patient, here or overseas, see only that number and your test results, such as your tissue type.
If you might be a match.
The registry phones you, sends some health questions and arranges blood tests. The patient’s medical team then chooses the donor. From the first call to a confirmed match can take two to three months.
Getting ready.
You have a medical check at the hospital that would collect your cells. An independent specialist explains everything and checks that donating is safe for you.
Donating.
Collection happens at a hospital in a city, and the registry arranges and pays for travel and accommodation, for you and a support person.
Afterwards.
The registry checks in within a few days, again after a few weeks and at three months, then once a year for ten years.
Questions about joining on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Which registry do I join if I live on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
Stem Cell Donors Australia signs up people who live on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 2
Do I have to be a citizen to join if I live on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands?
Stem Cell Donors Australia asks every new donor whether they live in Australia and are eligible for Medicare, and takes people aged 17 to 35. Citizens and permanent residents of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory, are eligible for Medicare, Services Australia says. 2 3 11
How do I sign up on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: online, by kit or in person?
From the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, joining at home would mean enrolling online and waiting for a posted cheek swab kit, which Stem Cell Donors Australia says may currently take 6 to 8 weeks to arrive; the registry says nothing about posting kits to the islands. 1
Lifeblood Donor Centres offer Stem Cell Donors Australia’s other way to join: blood donors aged 18 to 35 who enrol online give a small extra sample with their donation. 1
For Christmas 2026, Australia Post asked New South Wales senders to post Parcel Post items to Christmas and Cocos Islands by 21 October 2026 and Express Post items by 7 December 2026; Stem Cell Donors Australia doesn’t say how its kits travel to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. 1 9
How old do you have to be to join Stem Cell Donors Australia?
Stem Cell Donors Australia signs up people aged 17 to 35. It keeps you listed until your 60th birthday. 2
Of the 593 people counted on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands at the 2021 Census, 36 were aged 20 to 24, 45 were 25 to 29 and 25 were 30 to 34, and the median age was 40, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says; Stem Cell Donors Australia’s joining ages are 17 to 35. 2 14
Is Stem Cell Donors Australia part of the international donor search?
Yes. Stem Cell Donors Australia is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association.
I live on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Do I join through Australia?
Under the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955, the islands are an Australian territory run by the federal infrastructure department, and laws of Western Australia may apply, the Federal Register of Legislation says. 12
Most people on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, 61.2%, spoke Malay at home at the 2021 Census, against 0.1% across Australia, the ABS says. Lifeblood said in September 2023 that Australia’s donor panel has minimal ethnic diversity, a real challenge for patients from non-European backgrounds. 8 14
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
More questions
Do I need to travel to join?
No. Joining by swab happens at home.
I live on Christmas Island or Norfolk Island. Is it the same?
Yes. The same rules apply.
Tell us about a registry
If you know of another way to join from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, or something on this page has changed, tell us.
CHECKED BEFORE IT WAS PUBLISHED
Sources
Stem Cell Donors Australia
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. Join the registry (opens in a new tab). Updated 10 September 2026.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. Am I eligible? (opens in a new tab) Updated 28 April 2026.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. Pre-enrolment questions (cheek swab and Lifeblood routes) (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. 17-year-olds can now register as stem cell donors in Australia (opens in a new tab). 6 May 2026.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. FAQs (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. The donation process (opens in a new tab). Updated 13 August 2026.Checked
- Stem Cell Donors Australia. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab). Updated 13 August 2026.Checked
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Stem cell donors needed to boost aging registry (media release) (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
- Australia Post. Christmas sending dates (opens in a new tab). 2026.Checked
Government and official registers
- Australian Business Register. ABN 38 096 625 231: Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
- Services Australia. Medicare eligibility; Medicare cards; Medicare for New Zealand citizens (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
- Federal Register of Legislation. Australia’s territories (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
About the Jada Bascom Foundation
- Jada Bascom Foundation. About us: Jada’s story. Undated.Checked
Figures and lists
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021 Census All persons QuickStats: Cocos (Keeling) Islands (SA2) (opens in a new tab). 2021.Checked
- United Nations Statistics Division. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49): Overview (English table) (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
Data version hub-2026.10.24-3+2e57f0bf