KIRIBATI · OCEANIA
Is there a bone marrow registry in Kiribati?
For people who live in Kiribati. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in Kiribati can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Kiribati’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services has a Referral Officer who coordinates offshore referrals and keeps a database of patients referred overseas, a 2024 government job description says. 8
| Region | Micronesia, Oceania 11 |
|---|---|
| Population | About 133,000 (2023) 12 |
| Registry | None found as of 10 |
| World donor search | No organization based in Kiribati lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 13 |
| Transplants | A 2012 health service profile by WHO and Kiribati’s ministry says almost all specialized clinical services in Kiribati come from visiting teams or offshore referrals, and that 57 patients were referred to overseas hospitals in 2010. 9 |
| Where we looked | 8 places, in English and Gilbertese |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
What we found in Kiribati
Kiribati’s health ministry coordinates offshore referrals for specialized care. 8
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | The World Marrow Donor Association’s member map listed no organization based in Kiribati when we checked it on Oct 11, 2026. 10 | |
| MIOT International | English | A web search on Oct 11, 2026 for Kiribati’s overseas referrals found no donor registry or drive, only the ministry’s Referral Officer job description and a March 2026 hospital agreement. 4 8 | |
| Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services | English | The Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services website, mhms.gov.ki, was still an unfilled template when we read it on Oct 11, 2026, and again on Oct 15, 2026, so it had no donor information. 7 | |
5 more searches with nothing to add
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A study from Tungaru Central Hospital’s blood bank in Nawerewere, listed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in November 2017, counted 8,531 potential blood donors registered in Kiribati from January 2011 to March 2016; it concerns blood, not marrow donors. 14
Can people in Kiribati join a registry abroad?
Stats NZ’s 2023 Census counted 4,659 people of Kiribati ethnicity in New Zealand, where residents aged 18 to 35 can join the national registry. Neither New Zealand’s registry, whose kits go anywhere in New Zealand, nor Australia’s, which asks for Medicare, described a way to join from Kiribati when checked on Oct 16, 2026. 1 2 3 6
Are stem cell transplants done in Kiribati?
Taiwan Church News reported in July 2018 that MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taipei had admitted its 300th referral patient from Kiribati, under a medical and humanitarian mission to Kiribati that the hospital began in 2007. 16
Islands Business, citing Taiwan’s CNA, reported in March 2022 that a teenager from Kiribati who came to MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taipei for cancer treatment in August 2019 got home only after 935 days, because Kiribati’s borders closed during COVID-19. 17
Tungaru Central Hospital is Kiribati’s principal referral hospital, and its redevelopment was being prepared with the Asian Development Bank in July 2026, subject to financing approval, the bank’s procurement notice says. 15
Questions about Kiribati
Can a hospital in Kiribati search abroad for a donor?
MIOT International, a private hospital group in Chennai, India, announced on March 26, 2026 an agreement under which Kiribati’s Ministry of Health refers patients for care including oncology and organ transplants; it doesn’t mention donor searches. 4
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Know of a registry in Kiribati?
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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
- Stem Cell Donors Australia (Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry). Pre-Enrolment Questions pt 1 (cheek swab route). Checked
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). Who can join.
- New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). How to join.
- MIOT International. MIOT International signs MoU with the Government of Kiribati. Updated Mar 26, 2026.
Official bodies
- Government of Kiribati. Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
- Stats NZ. Kiribati, Place and ethnic group summaries. 2023. Checked
- Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services. Home | GOK Template.
- Government of Kiribati (Ministry of Employment and Human Resources site). Position description: Referral Officer, Ministry of Health and Medical Services (PDF, 5 pp.).
- WHO and Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services (re-posted on the Ministry of Finance site). Health Service Delivery Profile: Kiribati 2012 (PDF, 11 pp.). 2012.
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
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Should Kiribati continue to aim for 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation as recommended by the WHO? Updated Nov 17, 2017. Checked
- Asian Development Bank. Advance Procurement Notice: Proposed Tungaru Central Hospital (TCH) Redevelopment. Updated Jul 22, 2026. Checked
- Taiwan Church News. 300 Referral Patients From Kiribati Admitted At MMH. Updated Jul 24, 2018. Checked
- Islands Business (CNA/Pacnews). Kiribati cancer patient returns home as border reopen. Updated Mar 23, 2022. Checked