The Valencian Community Achieves 41,500 Bone Marrow Donors

Last year, the Valencian Community counted a total of 1,075 new volunteers for bone marrow donation.

Thus, currently, the Valencian Community has around 41,500 registered donors. On the other hand, the Umbilical Cord Bank of the Transfusion Centre of the Valencian Community currently has 4,995 units.

To remember the importance of bone marrow donation, the third Saturday of each September is commemorated as World Bone Marrow and Umbilical Cord Blood Donor Day, which this year was on Saturday, September 16.

Of the total new marrow donors (1,075) registered in 2022, 365 were from Alicante, 596 from Valencia and 114 from Castellón.

By gender, 421 were men and 645 were women.

Since January 2023, 486 new available donors have been recorded and the number is expected to increase until the end of the year. By province they were 280 from Valencia, 141 from Alicante and 65 from Castellón.

Until last year 2022 and since the creation of the Spanish Registry of Bone Marrow Donors (REDMO) in the 1990’s, almost 541,000 donors have been registered and more than 17,000 searches have been carried out for patients that translated into 12,704 transplants throughout the country.

Currently, in the world there are 40,594,289 bone marrow donors and 804,310 umbilical cord units.

Bone marrow transplant is used to treat certain blood diseases or cancers.

In this type of transplant it is essential that the donor and the recipient have a compatible immunological identity. The search for a compatible bone marrow among the general population entails great difficulty, which is why it is important to raise awareness among society of the importance of becoming a donor.

To become a donor and be included in the REDMO Registry, you must be between 18 and 40 years old and not have suffered or suffer from any serious or communicable disease.

Regarding the donation of umbilical cord blood, it is a simple, painless and absolutely safe process for the mother and the newborn. All that is required is an assessment of the mother’s health and her written consent.