GHANA · AFRICA
Is there a bone marrow registry in Ghana?
For people who live in Ghana. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in Ghana can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Ghana’s bone marrow transplant center at Greater Accra Regional Hospital, which took its first patient in 2018, was set up to use brothers, sisters or parents as donors, Graphic Online reported. 15
| Place | Ghana (Gaana, Ghana nutome) 20 |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa 13 |
| Population | About 33.8 million (2023) 14 |
| Registry | None found as of 11 12 |
| World donor search | No organization based in Ghana lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 12 |
| Transplants | Graphic Online reported in June 2018 that Ghana’s first bone marrow transplant patient had been admitted to the transplant center at Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), run with the Ghana Health Service, the Ministry of Health and BMT Ghana. 15 |
| Where we looked | 12 places, in English |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
What we found in Ghana
Ghana’s health and blood service sites had nothing on marrow donation. 5 8
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | On Oct 11, 2026, WMDA’s map of member registries showed none based in Ghana, and no organization based in Ghana listed donor records in WMDA’s Search & Match. 11 12 | |
| Web search | English | A web search on Oct 11, 2026 for a Ghanaian donor registry found none operating, only BMT Ghana, which says it was founded in 2017 as Ghana’s only bone marrow transplant center and uses fully matched or half-matched donors, such as a mother or father. 17 | |
| Ministry of Health, Ghana | English | On Oct 11, 2026, the homepages of Ghana’s Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service had nothing on bone marrow or stem cell donation, and the blood service’s old web address led to a parking site. 8 9 | |
| DKMS (US) | English | In 2020, DKMS said The Sunflower Fund, the South African group it worked with, aimed to sign up donors from Ghana and Nigeria; on Oct 11, 2026, DKMS Africa’s sign-up form asked first whether you live in South Africa. 2 3 | |
| National Blood Service Ghana | English | On Oct 11, 2026, the National Blood Service Ghana’s site returned 0 results for “marrow”, and a search of Ghana’s Ministry of Health site for “bone marrow” found nothing about marrow donation. 5 10 | |
| DWIB (Danny Whyte & Ivor Burford Leukaemia Trust) | English | The DWIB Leukaemia Trust, a UK charity, says it aims to set up a bone marrow register and laboratory in Ghana; its own website showed no Ghana register or sign-up on Oct 11, 2026. 7 16 | |
6 more searches with nothing to add
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Can people in Ghana join a registry abroad?
Are stem cell transplants done in Ghana?
In 2018 Graphic Online reported that a transplant in Ghana would cost about $15,000 with a fully matched brother or sister and $20,000 with a half-matched parent, and that BMT Ghana was offering the matching test free. 15
Citi Newsroom reported in November 2019 that Ghana’s first apheresis machine had arrived at Greater Accra Regional Hospital’s sickle cell clinic, run with BMT Ghana, and that eight patients had been treated with bone marrow transplants there since 2017, so families didn’t have to travel abroad for it. 19
Has Ghana announced a registry or a law?
In November 2017 the DWIB trust, working in the UK and Ghana, joined a Stem Cell Registry Alliance of groups in the UK, the Caribbean and Africa set up to address the shortage of Black donors on registries; we found no later drive in Ghana. 6
In December 2015 a member of France’s National Assembly wrote that two registries had recently been forming in Ghana and Niger; the French government’s answer didn’t confirm it, and we found no Ghanaian registry since. 18
Know of a registry in Ghana?
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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
- Bone Marrow Transplantation Ghana. bmtghana.org.
- DKMS (US). DKMS Extends International Footprint with South African Partnership. Updated Aug 2, 2020.
- DKMS Africa (DKMS Foundation NPC). Register as a potential donor.
- South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR). Donor Exclusion Criteria.
- National Blood Service Ghana. You searched for marrow (0 results).
- ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, UK charity 1119516). Stem Cell Registries Across the World Unite to Launch SCRA. Updated Nov 9, 2017.
- DWIB (Danny Whyte & Ivor Burford Leukaemia Trust). HOME | DWIB.
Official bodies
- Ministry of Health, Ghana. Moh.Gov.gh - Ministry Of Health.
- Ghana Health Service. Ghana Health Service - Your Health Our Concern.
- Ministry of Health, Ghana. bone marrow - Ministry Of Health.
Figures and lists
- World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Find your registry.
- 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
- Graphic Online (Ghana). First bone marrow transplant takes off in Ghana. Updated Jun 15, 2018.
- National Black, Asian and Mixed Race Transplant Alliance (NBTA, UK charity 1177538). DWIB.
- FundRazr (profile of Bone Marrow Transplantation Ghana). Bone Marrow Transplantation Ghana - FundRazr.
- Assemblée nationale (France). Question écrite n° 91730 (published 8 Dec 2015; answer 19 Apr 2016). Updated Dec 8, 2015.
- Citi Newsroom. Ridge Hospital gets first Apheresis Machine for Sickle Cell treatment. Updated Nov 30, 2019. Checked
- Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Africa). Checked