Prince Metib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of National Guard agreed to be the Honorary President of the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry (SSCDR). On this occasion, H.E. Chief Executive Officer of Ministry of National Guard – Health Affairs, President of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) Dr. Bandar Al Knawy described his approval as a humanitarian initiative that will promote the Ministry of National Guard’s leadership in the medical field and contribute to the comprehensive development under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Dr. Bandar Al Knawy defined this initiative as a step towards encouraging stem cells donation as a noble humanitarian action that contributes to the treatment of serious diseases as well as supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to always be at the forefront of this modern medical field. He explained that the Ministry of National Guard – Health Affairs is already a pioneer in this area by establishing the first Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry. Moreover, Dr. Bandar pointed out that the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry, which was established in accordance with the regulatory actions adhering to international standards, aims at building a database to ensure finding HLA matching donors for patients who suffer intractable diseases and fail to find such a match amongst his/her relatives. These disorders include blood and genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and immune deficiency disorders. He added: “Additionally, this project will have a positive impact on the economic front, as the cost of treating one patient abroad is too high, but now, every oncology center in all regions of the Kingdom can seek the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry to find an identical match for their patients”. It’s worth mentioning that the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry has been receiving donors for the past three years; and the awareness campaign across the Kingdom will continue along with establishing registry branches in all regions. Furthermore, the number of people who registered as stem cell donors is currently up to 5000. Recently, a successful stem cell donation procedure was conducted on 2 Saudi donors at King Abdulaziz Medical City – Riyadh. Finally, Dr. Bandar Al Knawy announced that the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry is now a member of the Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW) which is an organization that coordinates the collection of HLA phenotypes and includes 72 donor registries from 52 countries worldwide. ?