COLOMBIA · DARCÉLULAS
Become a bone marrow donor in Colombia
For people who live in Colombia. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
A registry for people in Colombia is being set up by DarCélulas, and you can pre-register from age 18 to 55. In Colombia, DarCélulas, run by Bogotá’s health science institute IDCBIS, is building the national registry: you fill in an online form, then a sample is taken for tissue typing. 3 4 Checked .
| Region | South America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Americas 11 |
|---|---|
| Population | About 52.3 million (2023) 12 |
| Registry | DarCélulas (Instituto Distrital de Ciencia, Biotecnología e Innovación en Salud (IDCBIS)) 3 7 |
| Who can join | Ages 18 to 55DarCélulas’ online form offers four ID types, the Colombian citizen ID (CC), NUIP, passport (PA) and foreigner’s ID (CE), and asks for an address, department and city in Colombia. 1 6 |
| How you sign up | After the online form, DarCélulas asks you to log in and complete the steps described there; it says it will contact matching donors once the registry is consolidated. 4 |
| Cost | Bogotá’s city government says registering with DarCélulas is free. 7 |
| World donor search | No organization based in Colombia lists adult donors in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 10 |
| Public cord blood bank | IDCBIS runs Bogotá’s public cord blood bank, set up in 2014 with obstetricians and neonatologists at several hospitals and clinics in the city. 5 |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
Bone marrow registries are also called stem cell registries.
Who runs the bone marrow donor registry in Colombia?
DarCélulas signs up people who live in Colombia. It is run by Instituto Distrital de Ciencia, Biotecnología e Innovación en Salud (IDCBIS), a nonprofit organization.
Colombia’s Law 2253 of 2022, known as Ley Jerónimo, created an official national public registry of blood stem cell donors and put the Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) in charge of coordinating Colombia’s donor registries and their data. 8
DarCélulas, Colombia’s national registry project, takes online pre-registrations. 1
How do I join in Colombia?
Vanguardia reported in Jun 2026 that Clínica Foscal in Bucaramanga had set up DarCélulas boxes where volunteers take a kit, sign the consent, swab their cheek and leave the sample, the first sign-up point for northeastern Colombia, alongside four in Bogotá and three in Medellín. 13
DarCélulas
Run by Instituto Distrital de Ciencia, Biotecnología e Innovación en Salud (IDCBIS), a nonprofit organization.
18–55years old to join
- Who it’s for
- People who live in Colombia, aged 18 to 55.
- Language
- Spanish
Who can join in Colombia?
DarCélulas takes people aged 18 to 55 who weigh at least 50 kg and are in good health. 1
Colombia and the world’s donor search
Bogotá’s city government reported on Sep 19, 2026 that more than 20,000 people had registered through DarCélulas, and that 15 of them had already donated to patients in Colombia. 7
On Oct 11, 2026, WMDA’s organization database showed IDCBIS as a donor registry with no Search & Match listing and Bogotá’s public cord blood bank listing as in preparation, so searches from other countries can’t yet reach DarCélulas donors. 9
What happens after I join?
Blu Radio reported in Oct 2024 that IDCBIS and Bogotá’s Clínica del Country had opened Colombia’s first center for collecting stem cells from unrelated donors; before DarCélulas, patients there depended on relatives or on cells imported from abroad. 14
Questions about joining in Colombia
Can I join if I’m not a citizen of Colombia?
DarCélulas’ online form offers four ID types, the Colombian citizen ID (CC), NUIP, passport (PA) and foreigner’s ID (CE), and asks for an address, department and city in Colombia. 6
How do I sign up in Colombia: online, by kit or in person?
After the online form, DarCélulas asks you to log in and complete the steps described there; it says it will contact matching donors once the registry is consolidated. 4
Does it cost anything to join in Colombia?
Bogotá’s city government says registering with DarCélulas is free. 7
How old do you have to be to join DarCélulas?
DarCélulas signs up people aged 18 to 55. 1
Can I donate cord blood in Colombia?
IDCBIS runs Bogotá’s public cord blood bank, set up in 2014 with obstetricians and neonatologists at several hospitals and clinics in the city. 5
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Download the card
The link preview says: “A registry is starting. Pre-register with DarCélulas.”
Registries
- IDCBIS - DarCélulas. DarCélulas - Registro Nacional de Donantes de Células Progenitoras Hematopoyéticas.
- IDCBIS - DarCélulas. ¡Quiero preinscribirme!
- IDCBIS. Quiénes somos.
- IDCBIS - DarCélulas. ¿Cómo puedes DarCélulas?
- IDCBIS. Banco Público de Sangre de Cordón Umbilical.
- IDCBIS - DarCélulas. Quiero preinscribirme (DarCélulas pre-registration form). Checked
Official bodies
- Alcaldía de Bogotá (bogota.gov.co). Más de 20.000 colombianos dijeron sí a donar médula ósea. Updated Sep 19, 2026.
- Superintendencia Nacional de Salud (SuperSalud), Compilación Jurídica. Ley 2253 de 2022 (Ley Jerónimo). 2022. Checked
Figures and lists
- WMDA (Share, organisation data public access). Database.
- WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
- United Nations Statistics Division. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49): Overview (English table).
- UN DESA Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024: Total population by sex (CSV).
Other sources
- Vanguardia (Bucaramanga). Foscal instala buzones para inscripción de donantes de células madre en Bucaramanga. Updated Jun 16, 2026. Checked
- Blu Radio. Colombia abre su primer centro de colecta células madre para pacientes hematológicos. Updated Oct 23, 2024. Checked