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The Registry Atlas

What if there’s no donor registry where you live?

Many stem cell donor registries sign up only people who live in the country they serve, so if there’s no registry where you live, you usually can’t join one from home. You can still join where you live if you move, help a patient’s family understand how a donor search works, and tell us about any registry we’ve missed.

A stem cell donor registry is also called a bone marrow donor registry: it keeps a list of volunteers willing to give blood stem cells to a patient they don’t know.

Checked Last updated

The Jada Bascom Foundation is a nonprofit that points people to official registries. We don’t run a registry. Written and source-checked by the Jada Bascom Foundation.

Can I join a registry in another country?

Usually not. Many registries sign up only people who live in the country they serve, and their own pages say so.

Who some registries sign up, from their own pages
RegistryBased inWho can joinChecked
NMDPUnited StatesPeople who live in the U.S., its territories or its freely associated states. Source
SABMR (South African Bone Marrow Registry)South AfricaPeople who live in South Africa and will be in the country for at least two years. Source
DKMS AfricaSouth AfricaPeople who live in South Africa, including people from other countries who have lived there for 18 months or more and can show their papers, such as a permit or refugee documents. Source
CEDACE, run by IPSTPortugalPeople who are resident in Portugal. Source
Registre France Greffe de Moelle (Agence de la biomédecine)FranceSomeone living abroad for a while can apply only if they plan to return to France, and must give a French postal address for the kit. Source
DKMS Poland (Fundacja DKMS)PolandOnly people who live permanently in Poland. Source
TÜRKÖK, with Türk KızılayTürkiyeSign-up needs a Turkish identity number and address records. People who live abroad are asked to join the registry where they live. Source

Some of these steps need a local address or identity number: France sends its swab kit to a French postal address, and Türkiye’s sign-up needs a Turkish identity number and address records.

A few registries also sign up their own citizens who live abroad. Ezer Mizion, in Israel, takes Israeli citizens living abroad, and Gift of Life, in the U.S., says Americans living abroad may join, though it typically doesn’t register people from other countries.

What can I do if there’s no registry where I live?

Start with your country’s or territory’s page in the Registry Atlas: it says what we searched, when we searched it and what we found.

  1. Look up where you live.

    Every country and territory is listed. Where we haven’t verified a way to join, the page says so. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

    Find your country or territory

  2. Join where you live next.

    If you move to a place with a registry, you can usually join there once you meet its rules for people who live there, such as DKMS Africa’s 18 months in South Africa.

  3. Tell us what we’ve missed.

    If you know of a registry that signs up people where you live, tell us its name and we’ll check its own pages.

    Tell us about a registry

What donating involves, step by step

I’m from a place without a registry. Can I join where I live now?

Often, yes. Many registries ask where you live, not where you’re from: NMDP signs up people who live in the U.S., and DKMS Africa signs up people from other countries who have lived in South Africa for 18 months or more.

On most registries, you can also be found for patients abroad: organizations in 56 countries and territories list donor records in one international search, the World Marrow Donor Association’s Search & Match.

If you move after joining, tell your registry. Some ask donors who move abroad for good to leave their list and join the registry where they now live: DKMS Poland does, and Belgium’s registry asks donors to deregister when they move abroad permanently.

Why it matters who is on the registries

What can a patient’s family do?

A search for an unrelated donor can reach registries in other countries. Stem Cell Donors Australia, for example, says around 80% of Australian patients find their best match overseas.

Our guides for families explain how a donor search works, whether relatives might match and how you can help.

Does giving blood put me on a registry?

Not by itself. Giving blood and joining a stem cell donor registry are separate, though in some countries you can join on the same visit.

  • In Australia, blood donors aged 18 to 35 enroll online with Stem Cell Donors Australia first, tell Lifeblood staff when they arrive, and give a small extra sample while they donate.
  • In New Zealand you can join at a New Zealand Blood Service donor center or mobile drive, where an extra sample is taken with your consent.

How do you know there’s no registry?

We don’t say there isn’t one. We say we haven’t verified a way to join, after searching official sites, the World Marrow Donor Association’s directory and registries nearby, in the place’s own languages where we can.

As of October 16, 2026, we haven’t verified a way to join for people living in 124 countries and territories, and we’re still checking 40 more. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

How we check

Know of a registry we’ve missed?

Tell us, and we’ll check it

Tell us the place and the registry’s name. We check it against the registry’s own pages, and if people who live there can join, its page will say so.

Tell us about a registry

Checked before it was published

Sources

The registries’ rules and figures on this page come from these sources. Each place’s own sources are listed on its page.

Registries’ own pages

  1. NMDP. Join the donor registry | NMDP (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  2. SABMR NPC. DOC048 Donor Exclusion Criteria, version 3 (policy) (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  3. DKMS Africa. Registration (1/11) - first eligibility screen (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  4. Agence de la biomédecine. Essential information in English (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  5. Agence de la biomédecine. FAQ - S'inscrire & donner (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  6. Fundacja DKMS. Mieszkam za granicą – czy mogę zarejestrować się w polskiej bazie Dawców szpiku? (opens in a new tab) Undated.Checked
  7. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı / TÜRKÖK. Sıkça Sorulan Sorular (FAQ) (opens in a new tab). .Checked
  8. Türk Kızılay. Kan Hizmetleri - Sıkça Sorulan Sorular (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  9. Ezer Mizion (Israel). Bone Marrow Registry | Ezer MiZion (English) (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  10. Gift of Life Marrow Registry. FAQ - Gift of Life (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  11. Belgian Red Cross. Frequently Asked Questions (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked
  12. Stem Cell Donors Australia (Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry). Searching for a donor (opens in a new tab). Updated .Checked
  13. Stem Cell Donors Australia (Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry). Registering through a Lifeblood Donor Centre (opens in a new tab). Updated .Checked
  14. New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZ Blood Service). How to join (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked

Government and official registers

  1. Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, IP (IPST). IPST, IP - Dador de Medula Óssea (opens in a new tab). Undated.Checked

Statistics

  1. World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units (Search & Match statistics) (opens in a new tab).Checked