COOK ISLANDS · OCEANIA
Is there a bone marrow registry in the Cook Islands?
For people who live in the Cook Islands. Live somewhere else? Find your place.
As of , no bone marrow donor registry signs up people who live in the Cook Islands. Te Marae Ora’s 2026 Patient Referral Policy sends eligible Cook Islands patients from the Pa Enua to Rarotonga or to Auckland, New Zealand; Cook Islanders living permanently overseas aren’t covered. 5
| Region | Polynesia, Oceania 12 |
|---|---|
| Population | About 14,200 (2023) 13 |
| World donor search | No organization based in the Cook Islands lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 14 |
| Transplants | On Oct 11, 2026, a search of the website of Te Marae Ora, the Cook Islands’ health ministry, for ‘stem cell’ found only a 2020 air ambulance transfer of a very sick patient to Auckland. 9 |
| Where we looked | 7 places, in English and Rarotongan |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
Why is there no link to a registry in the Cook Islands?
What we found in the Cook Islands
Cook Islanders are NZ citizens, but NZ’s registry hasn’t said they can join from home. 1 7
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | The World Marrow Donor Association’s member map listed no organization based in the Cook Islands when we checked it on Oct 11, 2026. 11 | |
| Te Marae Ora | English | A search of the website of Te Marae Ora, the Cook Islands Ministry of Health, for ‘bone marrow’ on Oct 11, 2026 found nothing. 8 | |
| Te Marae Ora | English | A search of Te Marae Ora’s website for ‘referral’ on Oct 11, 2026 found the Cook Islands Patient Referral Policy 2026, which the Cook Islands Cabinet approved on July 7, 2026. 5 10 | |
| Web search | English | A Cook Islands Māori web search on Oct 11, 2026 found no result in that language; Cook Islands News reported in October 2020 that the health ministry and the Cook Islands Red Cross Society held a blood drive, with nothing on marrow donors. 15 | |
3 more searches with nothing to add
| |||
Can people in the Cook Islands join a registry abroad?
New Zealand’s 2023 Census counted 94,176 people of Cook Islands Māori ethnicity, with a median age of 22.3, Stats NZ says. Those living in New Zealand can join its registry at 18 to 35 if they can give blood there, and on Oct 16, 2026 the registry said it had only 3,000 Pacific Island people listed. 2 4 6
Questions about the Cook Islands
Are bone marrow or stem cell transplants done in the Cook Islands?
On Oct 11, 2026, a search of the website of Te Marae Ora, the Cook Islands’ health ministry, for ‘stem cell’ found only a 2020 air ambulance transfer of a very sick patient to Auckland. 9
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Know of a registry in the Cook Islands?
Download the card
The link preview says: “No registry to join. Here’s what is there instead.”
Registries
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). How to join.
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). FAQs. Checked
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). Swab kits.
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). Who can join.
Official bodies
- Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health. Fact Sheet: Patient Referral Policy 2026 (page and linked PDF).
- Stats NZ. Cook Islands Maori, Place and ethnic group summaries. 2023. Checked
- New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Cook Islands.
- Te Marae Ora. Site search 'bone marrow'.
- Te Marae Ora. Site search 'stem cell'.
- Te Marae Ora. Site search 'referral'.
Figures and lists
- World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Find your registry.
- 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).
- WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
Other sources
- Cook Islands News. Blood drive adds more to local donor list. Updated Oct 22, 2020.