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PORTUGAL · CEDACE

Become a bone marrow donor in Portugal

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

If you live in Portugal, you can join CEDACE from age 18 to 35. Portugal’s registry, CEDACE, takes only people who live in Portugal, aged 18 to 35, who are healthy and have never had a blood transfusion. 4 Checked .

You can join hereHow we check
Join through CEDACE, Opens CEDACE’s own site in a new tab
What happens after you join, From your sample to a possible call
Portugal at a glance
RegionSouthern Europe, Europe 8
PopulationAbout 10.4 million (2023) 9
RegistryCEDACE (Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, I.P.) 2 3
Who can joinAges 18 to 35, listed until your 55th birthdayThe Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation asks for residence in Portugal rather than Portuguese nationality, and a registration made once, even on paper, stays valid. 1 4
How you sign upIn Portugal you fill in an online questionnaire, then register in person: a doctor reviews your medical answers and a blood sample is taken for HLA typing, and you need your email for both steps. 1
CostDonation in Portugal is unpaid, and the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation reimburses a donor’s documented travel, lodging and transport costs. 1
Public cord blood bankPortugal’s Public Umbilical Cord Cell Bank, an IPST service set up in 2009, accepts only altruistic donations, offered to any patient, and collects them at four maternity units: São João and the Centro Materno Infantil do Norte in Porto, Pedro Hispano in Matosinhos and Fernando Fonseca in Amadora. 5 6
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Bone marrow registries are also called stem cell registries.

Who runs the bone marrow donor registry in Portugal?

CEDACE signs up people who live in Portugal. It is run by Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, I.P., a public body.

CEDACE signs up donors through IPST’s three histocompatibility laboratories, in Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto, which recruit and register new donors, take their samples and type them in their own regions before sending the results to the national registry. 2

Portugal’s registry takes people aged 18 to 35 who live in Portugal. 4

How do I join in Portugal?

DN Madeira reported on Sep 19, 2025, that people who live in Madeira register at the blood bank service of Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça, open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., where they fill in a form and give a blood sample. 10

Who can join in Portugal?

Can I donate?Age limits by country

CEDACE’s ages

Portugal and the world’s donor search

CEDACE was created in 1995 by Despacho 22/95 and has been part of the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation since August 2012. 2

On Oct 11, 2026, CEDACE listed 372,512 adult donor records in the World Marrow Donor Association’s Search & Match, last updated on Sep 7, 2026. 7

What happens after I join?

A registration in Portugal is valid until age 55; cells are collected at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology in Lisbon or Porto, or at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon. 1 2

What donating is like

Questions about joining in Portugal

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

The Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation asks for residence in Portugal rather than Portuguese nationality, and a registration made once, even on paper, stays valid. 4

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

In Portugal you fill in an online questionnaire, then register in person: a doctor reviews your medical answers and a blood sample is taken for HLA typing, and you need your email for both steps. 1

Does it cost anything to join in Portugal?

Donation in Portugal is unpaid, and the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation reimburses a donor’s documented travel, lodging and transport costs. 1

How old do you have to be to join CEDACE?

CEDACE signs up people aged 18 to 35. It keeps you listed until your 55th birthday. 1

Is CEDACE part of the international donor search?

Yes. CEDACE is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association.

Can I donate cord blood in Portugal?

Portugal’s Public Umbilical Cord Cell Bank, an IPST service set up in 2009, accepts only altruistic donations, offered to any patient, and collects them at four maternity units: São João and the Centro Materno Infantil do Norte in Porto, Pedro Hispano in Matosinhos and Fernando Fonseca in Amadora. 5 6

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

Join through CEDACE, Opens CEDACE’s own site in a new tab
Download the card

Sources

How we check

Checked , unless a source says otherwise.

Official bodies

  1. IPST. Dádiva de Medula Óssea | Questionário de Inscrição.
  2. IPST. Registo Português de Dadores de Medula Óssea | CEDACE.
  3. IPST. Dia Mundial do Dador de Medula Óssea | Livro da Gratidão.
  4. Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, IP (IPST). IPST, IP - Dador de Medula Óssea.
  5. Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, IP (IPST). Banco Público de Células do Cordão Umbilical. Checked
  6. Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação, IP (IPST). Onde posso doar sangue do cordão umbilical? Checked

Figures and lists

  1. WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
  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).

Other sources

  1. DN Madeira (Diário de Notícias da Madeira). Saiba as principais condições para ser dador de medula óssea. Updated Sep 19, 2025. Checked