IRAN · ASIA
Joining a stem cell donor registry from Iran
For people who live in Iran. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
2 registries sign up people who live in Iran. You only need to join one. Here’s who can join, how it works and what happens after.
You can join here, through Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization.
Browsing from another country? See how joining works where you live.
Ways to join
2 services sign up people who live in Iran. You only need to join one.
Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization
Run by Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (سازمان انتقال خون ایران), a blood service.
- Who it’s for
- People who live in Iran.
- Language
- Persian
MAHAK
Run by MAHAK — haematopoietic stem cell recruitment centre (مرکز پذیرهنویسی سلولهای بنیادی خونساز محک), a nonprofit organization.
18–50years old to join
- Who it’s for
- People who live in Tehran, at MAHAK’s hospital, aged 18 to 50.
- Language
- Persian
Where a card has no join button, use the registry’s own pages for now. We link to a sign-up page only once we’ve checked the exact page the button opens.
We couldn’t open Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization’s website when we tried on Oct 14, 2026. That tells us nothing about whether it offers a way to join.
What happens after you join
From your sample to a possible call. Each registry runs its own process; these are the steps they share.
Check you can join.
Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization sets its own age range and health rules. Its own pages have them.
Give a sample.
The registry takes a sample to record your tissue type. Its own pages say how.
You’re on the registry.
Your tissue type is recorded, so searches for patients can find you.
If you match a patient.
The registry contacts you, checks you’re still willing and well, and arranges more tests.
Donation.
If you go ahead, you’ll donate blood stem cells or bone marrow. The registry explains what’s involved and supports you through it.
Keep your contact details up to date so the registry can reach you. What donating is like
Questions
Can I join if I’m not a citizen?
Registries usually decide by where you live, not by nationality. Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization’s own rules say who can join.
I’m already on another country’s registry. Do I join again?
Registries share their lists with searches around the world, so ask your registry before you join a second one.
Is giving blood the same as joining?
Giving blood helps patients who need transfusions. It doesn’t put you on a stem cell donor registry unless that registry says it does.
Who is the Jada Bascom Foundation?
We’re a US charity. We don’t run a registry, and we aren’t part of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. We help people find the official registry where they live.
Live somewhere else?
Registries usually sign up people by where they live, not by nationality.
Learn more
BE SOMEONE’S TORSTEN
The same search found Jada’s donor in Germany.
Jada was a baby in Spokane, Washington, when doctors found she had acute myeloid leukemia. Her match was a stranger five thousand miles away: Torsten, who had joined the DKMS registry at a donor drive in Germany the year before she was born. If you live in Iran, your place in that search starts with Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization.
Download the card
CHECKED BEFORE IT WAS PUBLISHED
Sources
Government and official registers
- Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. IBTO homepage (opens in a new tab). Undated.Tried ; we couldn’t open it
- Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran (website WMDA lists for INSCDN). INSCDN page (opens in a new tab). Undated.Tried ; we couldn’t open it
- Jada Bascom Foundation. About us: Jada’s story. Undated.Checked
Research and other sources
- Mehr News Agency (quoting IBTO public relations). برگزاری پویش «یک سلول تو، نجات یک زندگی» ('One cell of yours, saving a life' campaign) (opens in a new tab). Updated Oct 29, 2025.Checked
- Entekhab (quoting the CEO of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization). ثبت نام ۲۰هزار ایرانی برای اهدای سلولهای بنیادی (20,000 Iranians registered to donate stem cells) (opens in a new tab). Updated Sep 13, 2016.Checked
Map outlines: Natural Earth. Boundaries are for orientation only and imply no position on any dispute.
Data version hub-2026.10.15-1+68cdf352