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The DarCélulas program is a possible hope for patients in need of blood-forming cell transplantation, also known as bone marrow transplantation.

● DarCélulas already has more than 2,300 people registered in Bogotá.
● From now on, interested parties living in Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla will also be able to register.

Seven out of ten patients with severe blood diseases who need a transplant do not find a compatible donor in their family, so it is necessary to look for a match in genetically similar people even if they do not have a blood link. That is the challenge of DarCélulas: to create the database of potential donors who could save the lives of patients with serious blood diseases.

DarCélulas, led by the District Institute of Science, Biotechnology and Innovation in Health (IDCBIS), was born in 2019 within the framework of the Project "National Registry of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Donors in Colombia" with funding from the Science, Technology and Innovation Fund of the General System of Royalties and the District Administration of Bogota.

The program is in the pilot phase and already has more than 2,300 people enrolled, being the first program in Colombia in which potential donors of blood-forming cells to patients with serious diseases such as lymphoma, aplasia, among others, are registered.It is important to clarify that people who join the registry may not donate cells, as they will only be called if a genetically compatible patient requires the transplant.

"This registry is a life option for hundreds of Colombians who in the future may need a bone marrow transplant, today correctly called hematopoietic progenitor cell transplant. Valuable cells circulate in each of their veins and provide hope for others." said Dr. Bernardo Camacho, Director of IDCBIS.

In this phase of the project, the registration of potential donors and their genetic typing is carried out so that when the project becomes viable, search processes for patients can be activated.

This type of initiative is already being carried out in other countries such as Japan, New Zealand and the United States. In Latin America it has been carried out in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

The experience of creating the registry in Bogota has shown that the majority of people interested in being part of the database are women (73%). In terms of their profiles, 40% are regular blood or apheresis donors, 8% are relatives of people with serious blood diseases, and 52% are the general population.

Until now, registration was only available for the capital city of the country, but from now on, interested parties residing in Medellin, Barranquilla and Cali will also be able to register. The registration process is safe and fast. To learn more you can access

https://idcbis.org.co/darcelulas