Holding the 2008 WMDA meeting in Switzerland will give the Swiss registry the opportunity to suitably celebrate what is – from a Swiss viewpoint at least – a major event together with its partners from other countries and their representatives: the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss registry.

The Swiss Bone Marrow Donor Registry was founded in 1988. That same year the first transplant was carried out on a Swiss patient with bone marrow from an unrelated donor.

1989, donor recruitment began in Switzerland together with the first donor searches for patients from other countries. In 2005 the name was changed to Swiss Blood stem cells (SBSC). The headquarters of the foundation are in Bern.

As the organizer of the 7th International Donor Registry Conference and Working Group Meetings, the SBSC plans to host a welcome reception on Thursday 17 April 2008, on the eve of the meeting itself, which will at the same time be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Swiss registry. The preparations for a suitable event have already begun.