More than 850 donors from the Karaiskakio Foundation registry in Cyprus have provided transplants to patients in 35 countries, the organisation has announced. The update came on Saturday, marked as World Marrow Donor Day.

The foundation said Cyprus continues to play an active role in the global donor network, with awareness and education campaigns aimed at encouraging new volunteers. This year’s theme, Heroes of Hope, honours the millions of donors worldwide who give patients the chance of life.

Cyprus holds a distinct position because the Karaiskakio registry counts over 203,500 registered volunteers. According to the foundation, it is the largest bone marrow registry in the world in proportion to population.

World Marrow Donor Day was established in 2015 by the World Marrow Donor Association. It is observed every year on the third Saturday of September. In 2025, the celebration brings together more than 43 million donors from 60 countries.

As part of this year’s events, the foundation has extended its campaign Fakelose to… spiti sou (File it at home). It invites young people in Cyprus to register online through the platform www.fakeloseto.com. After registering, volunteers receive a kit at home to provide a saliva sample and join the global donor pool.

The whole month of September has also been declared Leukaemia Month by the foundation, with activities dedicated to raising awareness about the disease and the importance of bone marrow donation.

The organisation highlighted the value of renewing the registry, noting challenges such as the genetic diversity of the population and declining birth rates in Cyprus. It also underlined that more than 50,000 patients worldwide each year search for a compatible unrelated donor.