Over 205,400 bone marrow donors are currently registered with the Karaiskakio Foundation, which has to date offered more than 1,000 transplants to patients in 36 countries, the foundation said on Monday to mark World Marrow Donor Day, celebrated around the world on September 22.

This year’s slogan is ‘Hope Heroes’ and the foundation said the day is dedicated to volunteers who register in the archives and, when identified as compatible donors, offer stem cells, giving patients with serious haematological diseases a chance at life.

This year, the Karaiskakio Foundation invites the public to participate in the international social media campaign by sharing stories of courage, recovery and generosity, using the hashtags #thankyoudonor, #WMDD26 and #HopeHero.

World Marrow Donor Association, which represents over 44 million volunteer donors from 60 countries, is this year highlighting the decisive role of donors and the importance of cooperation in identifying compatible transplants.

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According to the association, every year over 70,000 patients seek compatible donors outside the family environment, while half of patients find a compatible donor in another country.

To mark the world day, established in 2015, events and campaigns are organised around the globe.

The Karaiskakio Foundation joined the association in 2000 and in 2008 became one of the first donor archives to have received accreditation.

Its archive is proportionally the largest in the world and constitutes an important part of the international network through which donors are sought.

“The need to constantly renew and broaden the archive remains, as the genetic diversity of the Cypriot population and demographic developments impact the chances of finding a compatible unrelated donor,” the foundation said.

The first bone marrow transplant was carried out in 1956. Since then, over a million patients worldwide have undergone transplants, with the transplant of haematopoietic stem cells constituting a treatment for over 70 different diseases.

The Karaiskakio Foundation dedicates September to leukaemia and organises a series of actions to cultivate awareness around the disease and bone marrow donation.