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RWANDA · AFRICA

Is there a bone marrow registry in Rwanda?

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

As of , parts of what we found about joining from Rwanda don’t agree yet, so we’re checking before we link to a way to join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Rwanda’s Prime Minister told Parliament in March 2026 that bone marrow transplants are now done in Rwanda, The New Times reported; we found no donor registry. 12

Still checkingHow we check
Rwanda at a glance
PlaceRwanda (U Rwanda) 16
RegionEastern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa 10
PopulationAbout 14 million (2023) 11
World donor searchNo organization based in Rwanda lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 9
TransplantsThe New Times reported that Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva told Parliament in March 2026 that bone marrow transplants, kidney transplants and PET scans, once unavailable in Rwanda, are now accessible in the country; it didn’t say what kind of marrow transplant or where donors come from. 12
Where we looked7 places, in English and French
Checked
Next check

Why don’t you link to a registry in Rwanda yet?

Kigali was still the one Rwandan place on SABMR’s online donor form on Oct 16, 2026, while SABMR’s rules still excluded anyone not living in South Africa; with no SABMR drive found in Rwanda, we’re checking before we link to it. 1 2

What we found in Rwanda

The New Times reported in 2026 that marrow transplants are now done in Rwanda. 12

WhereLanguageFindingDate
World Marrow Donor AssociationEnglishOn Oct 11, 2026, WMDA’s map of member registries showed none based in Rwanda, and no organization based in Rwanda listed donor records in WMDA’s Search & Match. 8 9
Rwanda Biomedical CentreEnglishOn Oct 11, 2026, the Rwanda Biomedical Centre’s homepage listed its blood transfusion work but had nothing on stem cell donors, and its site search just returned the homepage. 6
Web searchEnglishA search on Oct 11, 2026 for bone marrow transplants at King Faisal Hospital found no registry or donor drive in Rwanda, but led to a report, published by The New Times, that bone marrow transplants are now available in Rwanda. 12
4 more searches with nothing to add
  • World Marrow Donor Association English · 2 searches,
  • SABMR English ·
  • Web search English ·

Can people in Rwanda join a registry abroad?

South Africa’s two registries don’t take people living in Rwanda: on Oct 11, 2026, DKMS Africa’s form asked first whether you live in South Africa, and SABMR excluded anyone not living there. DKMS Africa takes other nationals only after 18 months living in South Africa. 2 4 5

Are stem cell transplants done in Rwanda?

The New Times reported that on March 26, 2026 Rwanda’s Prime Minister told Parliament that cancers were the main reason patients were transferred abroad for care, 34 per cent of transfers, ahead of heart surgery at 20 per cent and kidney transplants at 14 per cent. 13

LaingBuisson’s IMTJ reported in July 2021 that King Faisal Hospital in Kigali, preparing to offer kidney treatment from 2022, wanted to cut the 30 to 35 patients a year who went abroad for transplant services, mainly to India. 14

The New Times reported in June 2026 that King Faisal Hospital in Kigali had passed 100 kidney transplants since Rwanda’s living donor kidney program began in May 2023, with local specialists working alongside experts from the United States. 12

In August 2017 The New Times reported that a visiting team of doctors from India had given free check-ups in Rwanda to patients with sickle cell disease and blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. 15

Has Rwanda announced a registry or a law?

In March 2023 Rwanda passed a transplant law rather than a donor registry: Law N° 012/2023 of March 13, 2023 regulates the use of human organs, tissues and cells for treatment, and the Ministry of Health says it opened the way to transplant services after close to 70 patients were sent abroad for kidney transplants in eight years. 7

Other places in Africa

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The link preview says: “Still checking. Here’s what we know so far.”

Sources

How we check

Checked , unless a source says otherwise.

Registries

  1. SABMR. Become A Donor - SABMR.
  2. SABMR. Donor Exclusion Criteria - SABMR.
  3. SABMR NPC. DOC048 Donor Exclusion Criteria, version 3 (policy).
  4. DKMS Africa. Registration (1/11) - first eligibility screen.
  5. DKMS Africa. Blood stem cell registration form for non-sa citizens.

Official bodies

  1. Rwanda Biomedical Centre. RBC: Home.
  2. Ministry of Health, Rwanda. Transplant law: The key tool for the implementation of transplant surgery services in Rwanda. Checked

Figures and lists

  1. World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Find your registry.
  2. WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
  3. United Nations Statistics Division. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49): Overview (English table).
  4. UN DESA Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024: Total population by sex (CSV).

Other sources

  1. The New Times (Rwanda), via allAfrica. Rwanda: Kidney Transplants in Rwanda Surpass 100 Mark. Updated Jun 22, 2026.
  2. The New Times (Rwanda), via allAfrica. Rwanda: Over Rwf1bn Saved Through Local Kidney Transplants. Updated Mar 26, 2026. Checked
  3. LaingBuisson News (IMTJ). Rwanda: reducing outbound medical travel. Updated Jul 27, 2021. Checked
  4. The New Times (Rwanda). Blood disorders: When a bone marrow transplant is the solution. Updated Aug 21, 2017. Checked
  5. Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Africa). Checked