Karaiskakio Foundation registry exceeds 205,400 bone marrow donors
The Karaiskakio Foundation marked World Marrow Donor Day by highlighting its donor registry and the need to expand it.
Nicosia, Cyprus. More than 205,400 bone marrow donors are registered with the Karaiskakio Foundation, which has provided over 1,000 transplants to patients in 36 countries, the foundation said on Monday.
The announcement was issued to mark World Marrow Donor Day, celebrated globally on September 22.
World Marrow Donor Day
This year’s slogan is “Hope Heroes”, with the day dedicated to volunteers who register as donors and, when identified as compatible, offer stem cells to patients with serious haematological diseases.
The foundation invited the public to join an international social media campaign by sharing stories of courage, recovery and generosity using the hashtags #thankyoudonor, #WMDD26 and #HopeHero.
International donor network
The World Marrow Donor Association represents more than 44 million volunteer donors in 60 countries and is this year highlighting the role of donors and international cooperation in identifying compatible transplants.
According to the association, more than 70,000 patients seek compatible donors outside their family each year, while half find a compatible donor in another country.
World Marrow Donor Day was established in 2015 and is marked through events and campaigns worldwide.
Karaiskakio Foundation archive
The Karaiskakio Foundation joined the association in 2000 and became one of the first donor archives to receive accreditation in 2008.
Its archive is proportionally the largest in the world and forms part of the international network used to search for donors.
“The need to constantly renew and broaden the archive remains, as the genetic diversity of the Cypriot population and demographic developments impact the chances of finding a compatible unrelated donor,” the foundation said.
Transplant treatment
The first bone marrow transplant was performed in 1956. Since then, more than one million patients worldwide have undergone transplants.
Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is used to treat more than 70 diseases.
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