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SOMALIA · AFRICA

Is there a bone marrow registry in Somalia?

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

As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in Somalia can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Cancer in particular prompts many people in Puntland, Somalia, to seek treatment overseas, in India, Malaysia, Turkey and Ethiopia, Radio Ergo reported in February 2025. 12

No verified way to join yetHow we check
Somalia at a glance
PlaceSomalia (Soomaaliya, الصومال) 15
RegionEastern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa 10
PopulationAbout 18.4 million (2023) 11
RegistryNone found as of 8 9
World donor searchNo organization based in Somalia lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 9
TransplantsNo hospital in Somalia offers stem cell transplants, as far as we could find. Radio Ergo reported that one Puntland family, unable to get breast cancer treatment at Garowe’s hospitals, took their mother to India in July 2024 and spent $45,000 there. 12
Where we looked7 places, in English, Somali and Arabic
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What we found in Somalia

Many in Puntland, Somalia, go abroad for cancer care, Radio Ergo reported in 2025. 12

WhereLanguageFindingDate
World Marrow Donor AssociationEnglishOn Oct 11, 2026, WMDA’s map of member registries showed none based in Somalia, and no organization based in Somalia listed donor records in WMDA’s Search & Match. 8 9
Ministry of Health and Human Services, SomaliaEnglishOn Oct 11, 2026, a search of the site of Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Human Services for “bone marrow” returned “Nothing Found”. 4
Ministry of Health and Human Services, SomaliaEnglishSearched for “cancer” on Oct 16, 2026, the site of Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Human Services showed a single World Cancer Day item; its menu lists the Banadir, Demartino and Forlanini hospitals, and the results don’t mention leukemia. 5
4 more searches with nothing to add
  • World Marrow Donor Association English · 2 searches,
  • Web search Somali and Arabic · 2 searches,

Somalia’s health ministry site found nothing for “oncology” on Oct 16, 2026, while “hospital” brought up a newly expanded neonatal unit at Balcad Hospital and the history of Mogadishu’s Forlanini Hospital, built by Italy’s government in 1924. 6 7

Can people in Somalia join a registry abroad?

South Africa’s two registries don’t take people living in Somalia: 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. 1 2 3

Are stem cell transplants done in Somalia?

The Star reported in August 2024 that Mogadishu’s Oasis Cancer Hospital ran a cancer awareness program with Somalia’s Ministry of Health officials, that Somalia sees an estimated 10,000 new cancer cases a year, and that its chief executive said patients pay tens of thousands of dollars for care abroad. 14

Radio Ergo reported in February 2025 that Somalis seeking care abroad face visa restrictions and steep hospital bills, and quoted a man from Puntland who said that most of the patients he met in India were from Puntland. 12

Has Somalia announced a registry or a law?

Somalia’s Ministry of Health is planning cancer services rather than a stem cell donor registry: its profile with the Union for International Cancer Control, read in October 2026, says it is developing the first National Cancer Control Plan for 2026 to 2030 and a national cancer registry. 13

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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.”

Sources

How we check

Checked , unless a source says otherwise.

Registries

  1. SABMR. Donor Exclusion Criteria - SABMR.
  2. DKMS Africa. Registration (1/11) - first eligibility screen.
  3. DKMS Africa. Blood stem cell registration form for non-sa citizens.

Official bodies

  1. Ministry of Health and Human Services, Somalia. You searched for bone marrow - Ministry of Health Somalia.
  2. Ministry of Health and Human Services, Somalia. You searched for cancer - Ministry of Health Somalia. Checked
  3. Ministry of Health and Human Services, Somalia. You searched for oncology - Ministry of Health Somalia. Checked
  4. Ministry of Health and Human Services, Somalia. You searched for hospital - Ministry of Health Somalia. 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. Radio Ergo. Puntland's healthcare system struggles to meet growing patient needs. Updated Feb 3, 2025. Checked
  2. Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). Ministry of Health - Somalia (UICC member profile). Checked
  3. The Star (Kenya). Somalia steps up fight against cancer with awareness programme. Updated Aug 17, 2024. Checked
  4. Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Africa). Checked