Lifesaving stem cell donation centre opens its doors to first donors at Queen’s Medical Centre | Latest news

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has partnered with the charity Anthony Nolan to open the UK’s first dedicated cell collection centre.  

The Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre has welcomed the first people to donate their stem cells for lifesaving transplants and medical research.  

Based within the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Clinical Research Facility (CRF), the centre is located at Queen's Medical Centre and will create 1,300 new donation slots a year.  

The centre will help more people across the UK donate their cells to patients in need, giving them more time with their loved ones. A stem cell transplant is a treatment which helps thousands of people each year with blood cancer or blood disorders. It involves replacing a patient’s stem cells with those from a healthy donor.

The launch of the new Anthony Nolan facility also provides a further boost to NUH’s world-leading research programme, with cutting-edge research including studies into liver disease and dementia already being conducted in our Clinical Research Facility.  

Professor Stephen Ryder, Clinical Director of Research & Innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We’re delighted that the Anthony Nolan team has started working with our clinical team in Research & Innovation to launch its first stem cell collection centre, at our NIHR Nottingham CRF, which is already changing lives.

Not only will this new facility ensure patients can receive life-saving cells when they most need them, the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre fits with our strategy to drive forward our programme of experimental research in Nottingham which aims to both transform - and potentially save - many lives in years to come.”

A global shortage of facilities means the UK’s first dedicated cell collection centre is essential for getting donations to patients when they need them, preventing delays to this lifesaving treatment. 

The Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre adds to the charity's existing presence in Nottingham, with its Cell Therapy Centre located on Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton campus. This site houses the charity’s umbilical cord blood bank and a research facility that looks at new ways to use cord blood in medical treatments. 

Nicola Alderson, chief operating officer at Anthony Nolan, said: “A stem cell transplant is a potentially lifesaving treatment which is often a patient’s last chance of a cure or long-term survival. It can be incredibly stressful for patients and their loved ones who are waiting for a transplant, and any delays can risk their condition worsening.

“The Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre will help relieve the pressing capacity issues experienced in the NHS, and ensure patients receive their treatment when it is needed. It will also allow us to give donors the best experience and will help drive forwards research and the development of new treatments with the potential to save more lives in the future.

“Our gratitude goes out to all our amazing donors who join the register to help give someone a second chance at life. We’re so pleased to be able to offer them a new, dedicated centre for their donation in the heart of the UK.”

Brendon Craister, aged 26, from Telford, was one of the first people to donate their cells at the centre. He said: 

“I signed up to the register on Christmas Eve, while I was doing some last-minute shopping. I bumped into a friend who was recruiting people to the register to help a young boy called Marshall in need of a transplant. We signed up straight away and gave our swab samples. 

“I didn’t end up matching with Marshall, but a few months later I was contacted by Anthony Nolan who told me I was a match for someone else.   

“It was even more of a clear-cut decision for me because one of my colleagues has leukaemia and is currently waiting for a transplant. When she heard what I was doing she was really grateful, as she knows what it’s like to be waiting and hoping for a transplant.

“I feel honoured to be one of the first donors at Anthony Nolan's new centre. A stem cell transplant could be lifesaving for someone, and donating your cells is such an easy way to help.”