PHILIPPINES · ASIA
Is there a bone marrow registry in the Philippines?
For people who live in the Philippines. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in the Philippines can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. The Philippine General Hospital in Manila opened the country’s first charity bone marrow transplant unit in July 2026, GMA News reported, built with the I Want To Share Foundation. 10
| Place | Philippines (Pilipinas) 14 |
|---|---|
| Region | South-eastern Asia, Asia 8 |
| Population | About 114.9 million (2023) 9 |
| Registry | None found as of 6 7 |
| World donor search | No organization based in the Philippines lists adult donors in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 6 |
| Transplants | The project lead of the Philippine General Hospital’s new transplant unit told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in July 2026 that only around six centers in the Philippines can do bone marrow transplants, all of them private hospitals in Metro Manila. 11 |
| Where we looked | 16 places, in English and Filipino |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
What we found in the Philippines
Tzu Chi Philippines describes Taiwan’s registry but offers no way to sign up locally. 4
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | On Oct 11, 2026, the World Marrow Donor Association’s member map and its Search & Match statistics listed no organization based in the Philippines. 6 7 | |
| Philippine Red Cross | English | On Oct 11, 2026, a search of the Philippine Red Cross website for “bone marrow” turned up blood donation information only, with nothing about joining a stem cell donor registry. 3 | |
| Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines | English | On Oct 15, 2026, Tzu Chi Philippines’ bone marrow donation section described the Tzu Chi registry in Taiwan, with figures from June 2017, and gave no way to sign up as a donor in the Philippines. 4 | |
13 more searches with nothing to add
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Can people in the Philippines join a registry abroad?
NMDP, the US registry, signs up only residents of the US, its territories and freely associated states, its join site said on Oct 15, 2026, so people living in the Philippines can’t join it, though Filipino Americans in the US can. 2
Are stem cell transplants done in the Philippines?
The Philippine General Hospital’s transplant unit in the Philippines has three charity beds, where patients pay no out-of-pocket costs, and one private bed, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on July 12, 2026. 11
A June 2019 Philippine Daily Inquirer feature on The Medical City’s transplant program said the first bone marrow transplant in the Philippines was done at a government hospital in 1990, and that only 21 more were done by 2008. 12
At the July 2026 opening of the Philippine General Hospital’s charity transplant unit, Sheila Romero, founder of the I Want To Share Foundation, said a bone marrow transplant in the Philippines costs about 2 million to 5 million pesos, the Daily Tribune reported. 13
Questions about the Philippines
Can a hospital in the Philippines search abroad for a donor?
Dr. Eugenio Ramos, president of The Medical City, said in a June 2019 Philippine Daily Inquirer feature that the Philippines had no national registry of HLA-tested marrow donors and that the government barred bringing stem cells into the country, even from a relative living abroad. 12
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Know of a registry in the Philippines?
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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
- Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines. Bone marrow donation page.
- NMDP. Join the donor registry | NMDP (Formerly Be The Match).
- Philippine Red Cross. Search results for "bone marrow" (and home page).
- Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines. Bone Marrow Donation | Tzu Chi Philippines. Checked
Official bodies
- Department of Health, Philippines. DOH home page.
Figures and lists
- WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
- 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).
Other sources
- GMA News Online. Philippines' first charity bone marrow transplant unit inaugurated at PGH. Updated Jul 11, 2026.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer. PGH opens charity ward for bone marrow transplants. Updated Jul 12, 2026. Checked
- Philippine Daily Inquirer (Lifestyle.INQ). Treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers among Filipinos now offers real hope for cure. Updated Jun 21, 2019. Checked
- Daily Tribune. IWTS, PGH pioneers the First Charity Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in PH. Updated Jul 14, 2026. Checked
- Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Asia). Checked