SWEDEN · TOBIASREGISTRET
Become a bone marrow donor in Sweden
For people who live in Sweden. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
If you live in Sweden, you can join Tobiasregistret from age 16 to 35. To join Sweden’s Tobias Registry you must live in Sweden and have a Swedish personal identity number, and donors who move abroad for a long time are asked to pause. 5 Checked .
| Place | Sweden (Sverige, Ruotsi) 8 |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Europe, Europe 6 |
| Population | About 10.6 million (2023) 7 |
| Registry | Tobiasregistret (Tobiasregistret AB) 1 2 3 |
| Who can join | Ages 16 to 35The Tobias Registry asks for residence in Sweden and a Swedish personal identity number rather than Swedish citizenship. 1 5 |
| How you sign up | After you sign up online in Sweden, the Tobias Registry posts two swabs to rub inside your cheeks and a reply envelope with the postage already paid. 3 |
| Cost | Signing up with Sweden’s Tobias Registry costs nothing. 3 |
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Bone marrow registries are also called stem cell registries.
Who runs the bone marrow donor registry in Sweden?
Tobiasregistret signs up people who live in Sweden. It is run by Tobiasregistret AB, a public body.
Sweden’s Tobias Registry takes people aged 16 to 35 who live in Sweden. 1
How do I join in Sweden?
Tobiasregistret
Run by Tobiasregistret AB, a public body.
16–35years old to join
- Who it’s for
- People who live in Sweden, aged 16 to 35.
- Language
- Swedish
Why this one first Sweden’s national registry: sign up online and a two-swab kit comes by post (16–35).
Link checked Read the registry’s rules (opens in a new tab)
Who can join in Sweden?
People with a protected identity in Sweden can also join the Tobias Registry, giving a home address for the swab kit or having it sent through the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket. 5
Sweden and the world’s donor search
Sweden’s Tobias Registry has a national mandate for Swedish health care, is run by Region Stockholm as a nonprofit, and gets funding from all of Sweden’s regions according to how many people live in each. 5
The Tobias Registry was started in 1992 by the parents of Tobias Storch, who died at 17 while waiting for a matching donor, and it matches patients with donors in Sweden and abroad. 5
A few months after the Tobias Registry opened in 1992 it found its first match between a donor and a patient, and it has since connected more than 2,000 donors with people who needed blood stem cells. 2
The Tobias Registry says one in three patients still never finds a suitable donor, and it asks young men and people of non-European origin in Sweden in particular to join. 4
What happens after I join?
Tobias Registry donors stay on the registry until they turn 60, and they always donate at a university hospital in Sweden, with couriers taking the cells to patients abroad. 5
About one in 1,000 people on Sweden’s Tobias Registry gets to donate each year; most give stem cells from the blood in about four to six hours, and about one in ten gives marrow under general anesthesia. 4
A Tobias Registry donor in Sweden who takes sick leave to donate gets 80% of the lost income from the employer, with no waiting-day deduction, and the registry pays the other 20%. 5
Questions about joining in Sweden
Can I join if I’m not a citizen of Sweden?
The Tobias Registry asks for residence in Sweden and a Swedish personal identity number rather than Swedish citizenship. 5
How do I sign up in Sweden: online, by kit or in person?
After you sign up online in Sweden, the Tobias Registry posts two swabs to rub inside your cheeks and a reply envelope with the postage already paid. 3
Does it cost anything to join in Sweden?
Signing up with Sweden’s Tobias Registry costs nothing. 3
How old do you have to be to join Tobiasregistret?
Tobiasregistret signs up people aged 16 to 35. 1
Is Tobiasregistret part of the international donor search?
Yes. Tobiasregistret is a member of the World Marrow Donor Association.
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Registries
- Tobiasregistret AB. Gå med.
- Tobiasregistret AB. Om Tobiasregistret.
- Tobiasregistret AB. Om att gå med.
- Tobiasregistret AB. Det svenska registret för blodstamceller (homepage).
- Tobiasregistret AB. Vanliga frågor och svar. Checked
Figures and lists
- 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
- Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Europe). Checked