Welcome to the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry website.
The Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry (WBMDR) oversees the recruitment, HLA typing, donor searching and haemopoietic stem cell (HSC) donation procurement for patients in the UK and overseas.
The WBMDR consists of HLA typed volunteer blood and platelet donors from the Welsh Blood Service. All registered bone marrow volunteers are HLA-A, B, C, DR and DQ typed by DNA-based methods at registration along with ABO, Rh, and CMV status.
WBMDR donor HLA information is listed on ‘Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide’ and the Registry employs the European Marrow Donor Information System. The WBMDR takes an active part in the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA)
Our Registry accepts donor search requests for all patients referred to transplant centres performing HSC transplantation in compliance with WMDA recommendations. Bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, lymphocytes, and various blood products may be available to selected patients.
In 1994 the WBMDR became the first Registry to be accredited by the WMDA.
The Welsh Transplantation and Immunogenetics Laboratory (WTAIL), part of the Welsh Blood Service (WBS), manages the Registry and performs all donor HLA typing. WTAIL is accredited by Clinical Pathology Accreditation Ltd and the European Federation for Immunogenetics.
Within the UK it is a legal requirement of the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007 that a registry is licensed and complies with the European Tissue and Cells Directive 2004/23/EC (EUTCD). The WBMDR holds a licence (No. 22497) from the UK regulatory body (The Human Tissue Authority). This licence authorises the storage of tissues and/or cells intended for human application and also authorises: procurement, testing and distribution, import/export of tissues and/or cells intended for human application. It is granted under Regulation 7(1) and (2) of the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007.
For the purposes of UK law the legal entity under which the WBMDR operates as part of the Welsh Blood Service is:
Velindre NHS Trust
2 Charnwood Court
Parc Nantgarw
Cardiff
CF15 7QZ