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IRAN · ASIA

Become a stem cell donor in Iran

For people who live in Iran. Live somewhere else? Find your country.

In Iran you can join Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization or MAHAK (ages 18 to 50). You only need to join one. The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization signs up volunteers for its unrelated stem cell donor center, SEPAS, at 46 blood donation centers in 31 provinces, the Mehr News Agency reported in October 2025. 10 Checked .

You can join hereHow we check
See the ways to join, On this pageWhat happens after you join, From your sample to a possible call
Iran at a glance
PlaceIran (ایران) 14
RegionSouthern Asia, Asia 6
PopulationAbout 90.6 million (2023) 7
RegistriesIranian Blood Transfusion OrganizationMAHAK 2 10 11 13
Who can joinMAHAK: ages 18 to 50Iran’s Deputy Minister of Health for Treatment invited eligible compatriots to register in Iran’s national network of blood stem cell donors at recruitment centers across the country, the Mehr News Agency reported in September 2025; no rule for foreign residents is published. 1 12
How you sign upAt MAHAK, you fill in a questionnaire and the laboratory takes a blood sample for HLA typing, and MAHAK calls you if you later match a patient; for now samples are taken only at MAHAK’s Darabad hospital in Tehran. 1
World donor searchOrganizations based in Iran list 84,495 adult donor records in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 5
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Stem cell registries are also called bone marrow registries.

Which registry should I join in Iran?

The registries that sign up people who live in Iran
RegistryAges to joinWho it’s for
Iranian Blood Transfusion OrganizationOn its own pagesPeople who live in Iran
MAHAK18 to 50People who live in Tehran, at MAHAK’s hospital

In Tehran, the MAHAK children’s cancer charity also signs up donors aged 18 to 50, by online appointment at its hospital in Darabad; MAHAK asks that you aren’t already a member of another recruitment center. 1

Iran’s MAHAK charity signs up stem cell donors aged 18 to 50 at its Tehran hospital. 1

How do I join in Iran?

  • Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization

    Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization is a blood service.

    Who it’s for
    People who live in Iran.
    Language
    Persian

Who can join in Iran?

Can I donate?Age limits by country

Iran and the world’s donor search

The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization said in October 2025, as the Mehr News Agency reported, that 102,000 people had joined SEPAS since it was founded in the Iranian year 1389 (2010-11), and that SEPAS volunteers had given cells for 56 bone marrow transplants in Iran. 10

MAHAK said in January 2025, the Mehr News Agency reported, that nearly 12,000 samples had been registered at its center, more than 900 had matched patients in Iran and other countries, and 11 transplants had taken place. 13

Questions about joining in Iran

Can I join if I’m not a citizen of Iran?

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Health for Treatment invited eligible compatriots to register in Iran’s national network of blood stem cell donors at recruitment centers across the country, the Mehr News Agency reported in September 2025; no rule for foreign residents is published. 12

How do I sign up in Iran: online, by kit or in person?

At MAHAK, you fill in a questionnaire and the laboratory takes a blood sample for HLA typing, and MAHAK calls you if you later match a patient; for now samples are taken only at MAHAK’s Darabad hospital in Tehran. 1

Is Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization part of the international donor search?

Two organizations based in Iran list records in the World Marrow Donor Association’s Search & Match, as read on Oct 11, 2026: the Iranian National Stem Cell Donor Network, 54,276 adult donor records and 8,521 cord blood units, and the Iranian Stem Cell Donor Program, 30,219 adult donor records. 8 9

About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.

Live somewhere else?

Find another country or territory

BE SOMEONE’S TORSTEN

The same search found Jada’s donor in Germany.

Read Jada’s story

See the ways to join, On this page
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The link preview says: “You can join here, through Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization.”

Sources

How we check

Checked , unless a source says otherwise.

Registries

  1. MAHAK (Society to Support Children Suffering from Cancer). ارتباط با مرکز پذیره‌نویسی سلول‌های بنیادی خون‌ساز (Contact the blood stem cell recruitment centre). Checked
  2. MAHAK (Society to Support Children Suffering from Cancer). Global Partnerships.

Official bodies

  1. Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. IBTO homepage. Unavailable when read
  2. Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran (website WMDA lists for INSCDN). INSCDN page. Unavailable when read

Figures and lists

  1. World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). WMDA statistics.
  2. United Nations Statistics Division. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49): Overview (English table).
  3. UN DESA Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024: Total population by sex (CSV).
  4. World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Find your registry.
  5. WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.

Other sources

  1. Mehr News Agency (quoting IBTO public relations). برگزاری پویش «یک سلول تو، نجات یک زندگی» ('One cell of yours, saving a life' campaign). Updated Oct 29, 2025.
  2. 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). Updated Sep 13, 2016.
  3. Mehr News Agency. پیام معاون درمان به مناسبت روز جهانی اهداکنندگان سلول‌های خون‎ساز (Deputy Minister for Treatment's message for World Marrow Donor Day). Updated Sep 21, 2025.
  4. Mehr News Agency. اهدای سلول‌های بنیادی خون ساز؛ چگونه نجات‌بخش زندگی دیگران شویم. Updated Jan 7, 2025.
  5. Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Asia). Checked