NIGERIA · AFRICA
Is there a bone marrow registry in Nigeria?
For people who live in Nigeria. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , parts of what we found about joining from Nigeria don’t agree yet, so we’re checking before we link to a way to join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. The Bone Marrow Registry Nigeria in Enugu held its newest drive we found in May 2019, and its website didn’t answer on Oct 11, 2026. 18 20
| Place | Nigeria (Nàìjíríà) 28 |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa 16 |
| Population | About 227.9 million (2023) 17 |
| World donor search | No organization based in Nigeria lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 15 |
| Transplants | Lagos University Teaching Hospital said its first two bone marrow transplants with the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria were done on Sept 17 and 19, 2024, using marrow from family donors. 7 |
| Where we looked | 20 places, in English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
Why don’t you link to a registry in Nigeria yet?
The Bone Marrow Registry Nigeria signed people up in person, at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu or at donor drives, according to its archived website. The Scientist reported in March 2012 that it was Nigeria’s first bone marrow registry. 19 22
We tried the Nigerian registry’s website three times on Oct 11, 2026 and it didn’t answer. The Internet Archive’s copies show the site working until February 2024, with no news after May 2019. 20 25
The ICIR reported drives for the Nigerian registry in Enugu, Abuja and Lagos in May 2019, where joining took a consent form and a cheek swab at no cost to the donor. They are the newest recruitment in Nigeria we found. 21
What we found in Nigeria
Nigeria’s newest registry drive we found was in May 2019. 20
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | On Oct 11, 2026, WMDA’s map of member registries showed none based in Nigeria, and no organization based in Nigeria listed donor records in WMDA’s Search & Match. 14 15 | |
| Web search | English | Pulse Nigeria reported in March 2026 that the Lagos transplant program depends largely on family donors, especially siblings, and that Nigeria doesn’t yet have a large-scale national registry of unrelated donors. 23 | |
| DKMS (US) | English | In 2020, DKMS said The Sunflower Fund, the South African group it worked with, hoped 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. 1 2 | |
| Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria | English | Searches of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health site for “bone marrow” and of the National Blood Service Agency site for “marrow” returned nothing on Oct 11, 2026. 8 11 | |
| Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Nigeria (release by the Federal Ministry of Health) | English | Nigeria’s March 2025 transplant guidelines, which Reuters via TimesLIVE reported cover bone marrow, promise an organ donation and transplantation registry; on Oct 11, 2026 we found no plan for a stem cell donor registry. 13 27 | |
| ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, UK charity 1119516) | English | The newest material we found on the Stem Cell Registry Alliance, which the Nigerian registry helped found, was its November 2017 announcement; searches on Oct 11, 2026 found no later drive in Nigeria. 9 | |
14 more searches with nothing to add
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We couldn’t open the website of Bone Marrow Registry Nigeria (BMRN) when we tried on Oct 11, 2026. That tells us nothing about whether it offers a way to join.
We couldn’t open 2 other official pages when we tried on Oct 11, 2026. That tells us nothing about whether they offer a way to join.
Can people in Nigeria join a registry abroad?
Are stem cell transplants done in Nigeria?
Nigeria’s first stem cell transplant, a 2011 operation at a government hospital for a 7-year-old boy with sickle cell disease, used a fully matched brother or sister as the donor, according to a 2025 review of transplants in Africa. 24
Has Nigeria announced a registry or a law?
In November 2017 the Bone Marrow Registry Nigeria joined UK, Caribbean, Ghanaian and South African groups in a Stem Cell Registry Alliance; its co-directors said then that Nigeria’s size and diversity made it ideal for recruiting donors, but they were constantly battling a lack of funds. 9
In March 2025 Nigeria’s federal government issued national standards for organ and tissue transplant services, validated on Nov 13, 2024, and the health minister said it would set up an organ donation and transplantation registry. 13
For World Marrow Donor Day in September 2026, Anambra State’s government urged Nigerians to consider registering with recognized donor registries or participating hospitals, without naming one. 12
Know of a registry in Nigeria?
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The link preview says: “Still checking. Here’s what we know so far.”
Registries
- DKMS (US). DKMS Extends International Footprint with South African Partnership. Updated Aug 2, 2020.
- DKMS Africa (DKMS Foundation NPC). Register as a potential donor.
- NMDP. Cooperative Registries.
- DKMS Africa (DKMS Foundation NPC). FAQs | Blood Stem Cell Donation with DKMS Africa.
- University of Nigeria. Bone Marrow Donors Registry in Nigeria Research Group.
- South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR). Donor Exclusion Criteria.
- Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Press release: LUTH and Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria bone marrow transplant programme (20 September 2024). Updated Sep 20, 2024.
- National Blood Service Agency, Nigeria. Search Results for 'marrow'.
- ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, UK charity 1119516). Stem Cell Registries Across the World Unite to Launch SCRA. Updated Nov 9, 2017.
Official bodies
- Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria. Homepage.
- Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria. Search Results for 'bone marrow'.
- Anambra State Government (Ministry of Information and Value Reformation). World Marrow Donor Day: Nigerians urged to register as stem cell donors. Updated Sep 19, 2026.
- Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Nigeria (release by the Federal Ministry of Health). FG Launches Standards, Guidelines for Establishing & Coordinating Organ/Tissue Transplantation Services. March 2025.
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
- Internet Archive. Bone Marrow Registry in Nigeria – Become a donor today (archived homepage). Archived copy.
- Internet Archive. Becoming a Donor is Easy… (archived). Archived copy.
- Internet Archive. News – Bone Marrow Registry in Nigeria (archived). Archived copy.
- The ICIR (International Centre for Investigative Reporting). Astrid, Nigerian-German lady needs stem cell donors to beat blood cancer. Updated May 11, 2019.
- The Scientist. New African Bone Marrow Registry. Updated Mar 19, 2012.
- Pulse Nigeria. Nigeria Opens West Africa's First Bone Marrow Transplant Centre for Sickle Cell Cure. Updated Mar 4, 2026.
- Health Science Reports (Wiley), full text via Europe PMC. Ogunniyi et al. Advancing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) in Africa: A Pathway to Curing Hematological Disorders. doi:10.1002/hsr2.71464. Updated Nov 9, 2025.
- Internet Archive (CDX index). Capture index for bonemarrownigeria.org. Archived copy.
- THISDAY. Blessing Olalemi, Flavor Demand Additional Stem Cell Donors. Updated Sep 6, 2021.
- Reuters via TimesLIVE. Nigeria sets organ transplant rules to fight exploitation. Updated Mar 7, 2025.
- Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Africa). Checked