COSTA RICA · AMERICAS
Is there a bone marrow registry in Costa Rica?
For people who live in Costa Rica. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in Costa Rica can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Transplant teams here can search registries abroad for a patient. In Nov 2024, Teletica reported, a public hospital did Costa Rica’s first transplant using marrow imported from an unrelated donor. 8
| Region | Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Americas 5 |
|---|---|
| Population | About 5.1 million (2023) 6 |
| Registry | None found as of 3 4 |
| World donor search | No organization based in Costa Rica lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 3 |
| Transplants | Teletica reported in Nov 2024 that Costa Rica’s first unrelated-donor marrow transplant was done in a hospital of the social security fund (CCSS) and paid for by the public system, after almost six years of work by Fundación Sonríe Conmigo. 8 |
| Where we looked | 4 places, in English and Spanish |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
What we found in Costa Rica
Teletica reported Costa Rica’s first imported unrelated-donor marrow in 2024. 8
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | On Oct 11, 2026, no organization based in Costa Rica was on WMDA’s member map or in its organization database. 4 7 | |
| Web search | Spanish | On Oct 11, 2026, a search found no Costa Rican marrow donor registry; Teletica reported on Nov 19, 2024 the country’s first transplant with marrow imported from an unrelated donor. 8 | |
| Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica | Spanish | On Oct 11, 2026, the homepage of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health had nothing about marrow or stem cell donors, and the site of the social security fund (CCSS) didn’t respond. 2 | |
| Web search | Spanish | Nothing to add |
Can people in Costa Rica join a registry abroad?
NMDP México, the Mexico-based nonprofit that linked Costa Rica’s first unrelated-donor patient with a donor, told Teletica in Nov 2024 that it signs up volunteers at marathons, universities and shopping centers; on Oct 16, 2026 its site named sign-up events and fixed points in Mexico, and nothing in Costa Rica. 1 8
Has Costa Rica announced a registry or a law?
Fundación Sonríe Conmigo, a Costa Rican foundation started by two families after their children’s illnesses, works so that unrelated-donor marrow transplants can be done in Costa Rica and to inform people about leukemia and other blood disorders; Teletica reported in 2024 that it links patients with registries abroad to import marrow. 8
Questions about Costa Rica
Are bone marrow or stem cell transplants done in Costa Rica?
Teletica reported in Nov 2024 that Costa Rica’s first unrelated-donor marrow transplant was done in a hospital of the social security fund (CCSS) and paid for by the public system, after almost six years of work by Fundación Sonríe Conmigo. 8
Can a hospital in Costa Rica search abroad for a donor?
NMDP México told Teletica in Nov 2024 that the public health system in Mexico, where it is based, had not yet covered a transplant of this kind, and that Costa Rica was a pioneer. 8
Teletica reported in Nov 2024 that the patient in Costa Rica urgently needed a marrow transplant and had no matching donor in the family, so Fundación Sonríe Conmigo made the contacts abroad, and the marrow was imported once a match was found. 8
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Know of a registry in Costa Rica?
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The link preview says: “No verified way to join yet. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Here’s what we checked.”
Registries
- NMDP México. Donar Células Madre • NMDP México. Checked
Official bodies
- Ministerio de Salud de Costa Rica. Sitio Web del Ministerio de Salud Costa Rica. Bienvenido. Checked
Figures and lists
- WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
- 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 (Share, Organisation data public access). Database.
Other sources
- Teletica. Costa Rica importa, por primera vez, una médula ósea para trasplante. Updated Nov 19, 2024.