Can I Join the Bone Marrow Registry?

Eligibility Criteria

Donors must:

  • be aged between 18 and 45 years
  • be willing to remain on the panel until they are 55 years of age
  • be in good general health
  • meet certain eligibility criteria which are assessed prior to placing donors on the panel

How do I join the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry panel?

Bone Marrow Donors are recruited to the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow panel through the whole blood and platelet donation clinics. 

We require their computer systems to register our donors and we follow their medical guidelines for donor suitability. At the moment we are targeting donors between the ages of 18 and 25, however we will still accept donors onto the panel up to the age of 45. 

If you donate blood or platelets in any of the blood or platelet donation clinics and wish to join the Bone Marrow panel, you can answer the question relating to Bone Marrow on the back of the Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire when you attend a clinic and our clinic staff will facilitate this.

To join the Bone Marrow panel you will have a blood test to establish your HLA type. You will be asked to read an information leaflet and to provide consent.

How to Join:

To take the Bone Marrow Eligibility Quiz and to Find a Clinic near you please visit the "Bone Marrow Eligibility Quiz" page here.

To book an appointment at your local blood clinic please contact Locall: 1800 731 137.

  • Attend for your appointment at donation clinic as arranged.
  • Complete the Health and Lifestyle questionnaire, tick the question relating joining the Bone Marrow Registry.
  • Following completion of successful eligibility assessment with one of our clinic staff, an extra tube of blood will be taken at donation for tissue-typing tests.
  • Your information and tissue-type result will be entered into our national database. You are now a member of the Irish Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry.
  • This information will also be entered on the WMDA (World Marrow Donor Association) database which currently has over 38 million donors.
  • If you match a patient, you will be contacted to confirm that you are still healthy and agree to have further testing to confirm the potential match.
  • Your information will remain on the database until you reach the age of 55 years.

How else can I help?

Patients with Leukaemia and certain other blood disorders usually lack platelets, the blood cells essential for clotting.  The Irish Blood Transfusion Service collects platelets in clinics in Dublin and Cork and are always looking for new donors up to the age of 45.

Read about giving platelets here.

Related Links

You can find your local clinic to arrange your blood donation appointment here. 

To find out how to give a platelet donation please click here. 

To book anappointment at a platelet clinic convenient for you please contact 01 4322833 (Dublin) or 021 4807429 (Cork).