UNITED ARAB EMIRATES · ASIA
Is there a bone marrow registry in the United Arab Emirates?
For people who live in the United Arab Emirates. Live somewhere else? Find your country.
As of , we haven’t found a bone marrow donor registry that people who live in the United Arab Emirates can join. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Abu Dhabi Biobank finished HLA typing all its banked stem cell samples, so they can be matched to patients in the UAE, Khaleej Times reported in July 2025. 13
| Place | United Arab Emirates (الإمارات العربية المتحدة) 16 |
|---|---|
| Region | Western Asia, Asia 8 |
| Population | About 10.6 million (2023) 9 |
| Registry | None found as of 6 7 |
| World donor search | No organization based in the United Arab Emirates lists adult donors or cord blood units in WMDA’s Search & Match (). 6 |
| Transplants | The Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre opened the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant program in July 2020 after the first bone marrow transplant done in the UAE, carried out with Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, WAM, the state news agency, reported. 15 |
| Where we looked | 5 places, in English and Arabic |
| Checked | |
| Next check |
What we found in the United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi Biobank takes free cord blood donations; we found no adult donor registry. 2
| Where | Language | Finding | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Marrow Donor Association | English | On Oct 11, 2026, the World Marrow Donor Association had no member based in the UAE; its organization database listed only a Dubai cord blood bank, with no membership and no listed cord blood units. 7 10 | |
| Abu Dhabi Biobank | English | On Oct 11, 2026, Abu Dhabi Biobank’s website offered free public cord blood donation at the hospitals it works with, alongside paid family storage, but no way for adults to sign up as stem cell donors. 2 3 | |
| Department of Health Abu Dhabi | English | On Oct 11, 2026, the Department of Health Abu Dhabi’s donation website described Hayat, the national program for organ and tissue donation, and linked to no stem cell donor registry. 5 | |
2 more searches with nothing to add
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This organization’s own pages are linked for what it does. It doesn’t offer a way to join a donor registry.
- Abu Dhabi Biobank Go to its website (opens in a new tab)
We couldn’t open the website of Ministry of Health and Prevention, UAE when we tried on Oct 11, 2026. That tells us nothing about whether it offers a way to join.
We couldn’t open the website of Dubai Cord Blood & Research Centre when we tried on Oct 11, 2026. That tells us nothing about whether it offers a way to join.
Has the United Arab Emirates announced a registry or a law?
Questions about the United Arab Emirates
Are bone marrow or stem cell transplants done in the United Arab Emirates?
The Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre opened the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplant program in July 2020 after the first bone marrow transplant done in the UAE, carried out with Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, WAM, the state news agency, reported. 15
Can a hospital in the United Arab Emirates search abroad for a donor?
Hospitals in the UAE do search registries abroad: WAM reported in January 2026 that Yas Clinic Khalifa City, with the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Centre, found a fully matched unrelated donor in the United States for an Emirati patient after no family member matched. 14
About donating: Does it hurt?, How donation works and Recovery.
Know of a registry in the United Arab Emirates?
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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.”
Registries
- Dubai Cord Blood & Research Centre. DCRC website. Tried ; we couldn’t open it
- Abu Dhabi Biobank. Public Cord Blood Banking in Abu Dhabi - Donate to Save Lives.
- Abu Dhabi Biobank. Abu Dhabi Biobank | Region's Largest Hybrid Cord Blood Bank (home).
Official bodies
- Ministry of Health and Prevention, UAE. Ministry website (and ehs.gov.ae). Tried ; we couldn’t open it
- Department of Health Abu Dhabi. Organ Donation (Hayat programme).
Figures and lists
- WMDA. WMDA Total Number of Donors and Cord blood units.
- World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA). Find your registry.
- 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).
- WMDA (Share, Organisation data public access). Database.
Other sources
- Gulf News. Blood banks target regulars to donate bone marrow. Updated Mar 14, 2006.
- Gulf News. Campaign to widen bone-marrow donor base. Updated May 20, 2011.
- Khaleej Times. Abu Dhabi biobank now closer to matching patients to cell donors in country with 'HLA typing'. Updated Jul 21, 2025.
- Emirates News Agency (WAM). 'Yas Clinic' performs matched unrelated donor bone marrow transplant. Updated Jan 13, 2026. Checked
- Emirates News Agency (WAM). First-ever bone marrow transplant successfully conducted in UAE. Updated Jul 27, 2020. Checked
- Unicode CLDR. By-Type Chart: Locale Display Names:Territories (Asia). Checked