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TÜRKIYE · TÜRK KIZILAY

Become a bone marrow donor in Türkiye

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

If you live in Türkiye, you can join Türk Kızılay from age 18 to 35. Türkiye’s national registry, TÜRKÖK, belongs to the Ministry of Health, and you join it at a Türk Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) blood donation point by giving 3 tubes of blood. 2 7 Checked .

You can join hereHow we check
Join through Türk Kızılay, Opens Türk Kızılay’s own site in a new tab
What happens after you join, From your sample to a possible call
Türkiye at a glance
RegionWestern Asia, Asia 8
PopulationAbout 87.3 million (2023) 9
RegistryTürk Kızılay (Türkiye Kızılay Derneği) 2 3 4 10
Who can joinAges 18 to 35, listed until your 55th birthdayTürk Kızılay says joining TÜRKÖK requires a Turkish (T.C.) identity number and a population and address record in Türkiye, so registration has to be done in Türkiye; it doesn’t say whether foreign residents can join. 1 5 6
How you sign upAt a Türk Kızılay donation point, you fill in the informed consent form for stem cell donor candidates and see a doctor, then give 3 tubes of blood; one tube goes to TÜRKÖK’s tissue typing lab and your results enter the TÜRKÖK database. Kızılay’s donation-point finder can filter for points that take stem cell samples. 2 4
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Bone marrow registries are also called stem cell registries.

Who runs the bone marrow donor registry in Türkiye?

Türk Kızılay signs up people who live in Türkiye. It is run by Türkiye Kızılay Derneği, a blood service.

Türkiye’s TÜRKÖK registry signs up people aged 18 to 35 at Red Crescent blood points. 1 2

How do I join in Türkiye?

Who can join in Türkiye?

TÜRKÖK lowered its joining age to 18 to 35 on Oct 7, 2024, so older statements that people up to 50 can join are out of date; registered candidates stay in the database until age 55. 1 5

Can I donate?Age limits by country

Türk Kızılay’s ages

Türkiye and the world’s donor search

Türk Kızılay said in June 2026, as reported by Memurlar.net, that TÜRKÖK had 1,231,392 active stem cell donor candidates, and that since 2014 there had been 36,905 patient-donor matches and stem cells collected from 8,500 people. 10

TÜRKÖK’s FAQ says its national registry completed World Marrow Donor Association membership on Apr 5, 2016, so patients abroad can be matched with donors in Türkiye; donors give in Türkiye and the cells are sent to the patient’s country. 5

What happens after I join?

TÜRKÖK advises Turkish citizens who live abroad to join the registry in the country where they live, because registries search each other and a match can still be found. 5 6

What donating is like

Questions about joining in Türkiye

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

Türk Kızılay says joining TÜRKÖK requires a Turkish (T.C.) identity number and a population and address record in Türkiye, so registration has to be done in Türkiye; it doesn’t say whether foreign residents can join. 5 6

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

At a Türk Kızılay donation point, you fill in the informed consent form for stem cell donor candidates and see a doctor, then give 3 tubes of blood; one tube goes to TÜRKÖK’s tissue typing lab and your results enter the TÜRKÖK database. Kızılay’s donation-point finder can filter for points that take stem cell samples. 2 4

How old do you have to be to join Türk Kızılay?

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

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 Türk Kızılay, Opens Türk Kızılay’s own site in a new tab
Download the card

Sources

How we check

Checked , unless a source says otherwise.

Registries

  1. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı / TÜRKÖK. Gönüllü Akraba Dışı Bağışçı Adayı Kazanımı Hakkında (announcement).
  2. Türk Kızılay. Bağışçı Adayı Olma Süreci Nasıl İlerler?
  3. Türk Kızılay. Türkiye Kızılay Derneği Tüzüğü (statute).
  4. Türk Kızılay. Kan Hizmetleri - Bağış Noktaları.
  5. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı / TÜRKÖK. Sıkça Sorulan Sorular (FAQ).
  6. Türk Kızılay. Kan Hizmetleri - Sıkça Sorulan Sorular.

Official bodies

  1. T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı (Ministry of Health), Sağlık Hizmetleri Genel Müdürlüğü. Türkiye Kök Hücre Koordinasyon Merkezi (TÜRKÖK) home page.

Figures and lists

  1. United Nations Statistics Division. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49): Overview (English table).
  2. UN DESA Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024: Total population by sex (CSV).

Other sources

  1. Memurlar.net (reporting a Türk Kızılay statement). Türk Kızılay'a yılın ilk 5 ayında 1 milyon 246 bin ünite kan bağışlandı. Updated Jun 14, 2026.