BEIJING — The China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) announced that it had enlisted 2.5 million potential donors and facilitated more than 7,600 hematopoietic stem cells donations by the end of August, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Sept 12.

Hematopoietic stem cells are the stem cells that give rise to all blood cell types. They are found in the bone marrow and used to treat blood diseases such as leukemia.

Over 300 donations were made for patients from more than 20 foreign countries and regions, said the CMDP on Sept 11 at an event in Beijing to celebrate the 4th World Marrow Donor Day, which will fall on Sept 15 this year.

The CMDP is a leading bone marrow bank established in 1992 by the Red Cross Society of China.

Losing contact with registered donors is one of many challenges for the program. According to the CMDP, doctors found many people on the donor register were a good match for their patients but failed to track them down because the donors changed their contact information, or they changed their minds and refused to donate.

Therefore, the CMDP made a public appeal calling for all registered donors to get in touch and remember to update their contact information.