Stem Cell Donor Registry
Héma-Québec has set up and manages Québec’s
Stem Cell Donor Registry: a computerized bank containing the names of
Quebecers who could eventually agree to a stem cell donation.
Approximately 34,500 people are listed in Québec’s Stem
Cell Donor Registry. This registry is linked to the Canadian registry
as well as international registries, which enables us to look for an
unrelated donor for a patient on an international scale. In return, our
Registry is available to all patients in other provinces and elsewhere
in the world who are waiting for a stem cell transplant. The Canadian
registry includes more than 220,000 donors (including Québec donors),
while all of the international registries together provide access to
more than 10,000,000 potential donors.
We intervene when the patient’s doctor asks us to look for an
unrelated donor and when no family member has been found to be compatible.
If a donor who is compatible with the patient is found in the Registry,
Héma-Québec will contact that person.
Every month, our team handles about a hundred requests for searches
for unrelated stem cell donors. Locating these donors is a major
mandate, and our challenge consists in maintaining a sufficiently large
and diversified Registry.
The Stem Cell Donor Registry could not operate without your invaluable
contribution.
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