China's bone marrow bank records 18,000 donors

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) -- China's bone marrow bank has recorded 18,000 hematopoietic stem cell donations from unrelated donors as of Friday, according to the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP).

Hematopoietic stem cells are the stem cells that give rise to all blood cell types, and are found in the bone marrow. Donations from unrelated volunteers could be lifesaving for patients with blood diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.

The CMDP, a nonprofit organization that operates a national databank on volunteer donors, has over 3.45 million volunteers in its registry, growing into the world's fourth bone marrow bank.

In the first half of this year, 1,197 volunteers were registered, 197 more than the same period of 2023.

China reported its first bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor in 1996.