Donating stem cells

Every year, hundreds of Canadian patients—and even more worldwide—wait for a life-saving blood stem cell transplant.

In Canada, their search for a donor may start with family members, but less than 25% of patients find a match within their family. Most of the time, patients must rely on unrelated volunteer donors from a registry, often with a similar ethnic background to increase their chances of finding a match.

If you're between the ages of 17-35 and are in good health, you could be the rare match for a patient in need.

Join our stem cell registry

There are three ways to donate


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Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs), collected from stem cells circulating in the bloodstream (this is the most common collection method)

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Bone marrow stem cells, collected from the back of the pelvic bones through a surgical procedure performed under general anesthetic (less common collection method)

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Umbilical cord blood, collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after the safe delivery of a baby.

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Share your story to inspire people to join the registry


Whether you're a patient or family member, sharing your story is a powerful way to inspire others to register to donate stem cells or cord blood.

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Already registered with UBMDR?


Previous registrants of the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR) are already part of Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry and do not need to register again.  

If your personal information or health status has changed, update your contact information or call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).