Anthony Nolan

Today we’re excited to unveil our new look! Our refreshed brand reflects how we’ve broadened our scope – uniting people and science to unlock new lifesaving treatments and ensuring that patients have a better quality of life after transplant. As a result, we’re connecting with more people than ever – including stem cell donors, patients, fundraisers, healthcare professionals and researchers. We’ve also updated our strapline from ‘Saving the lives of people with blood cancer’ to ‘Saving lives through stem cells.’ Why? Because there are so many amazing ways stem cells can help even more patients. We won’t stop until we’ve uncovered the lifesaving potential of the cells inside us all.

🧫 🔬 Reassuring news from scientists looking at mutations in donated stem cells Because donated blood stem cells have to create an entire immune system from scratch, which takes a lot of effort, some scientists expected that this burden could increase the risk of cancerous mutations in these cells after a transplant. However, new research from the US suggests that the risk of mutations like these is unexpectedly low. “Surprisingly, there actually are very few new mutations in the stem cells arising through the transplant process,” says Dr Michael Spencer Chapman, a haematologist who is quoted in a recent article about the research. The research looked at 16 pairs of patients and donors who were many years past their transplant day, and showed that the rate of mutations in blood stem cells is not significantly higher in patients compared to their donors. These are encouraging findings, but they’ll need to be confirmed with larger studies. For now, we know that the risk of developing a secondary cancer from a stem cell transplant is very low, and massively outweighed by their potential lifesaving benefits. Read more about the research here: https://lnkd.in/egqXmXSR

“I’ve only been here a couple of months, but what I’ve been most struck by is the sheer passion and determination from my colleagues both at QEH, Birmingham and at Anthony Nolan, to provide high quality support and care to people.” Meet Jonathan, one of the most recent clinical psychologists to be funded by Anthony Nolan. Jonathan joined the team at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham in August, and has been settling in, learning more about patient experience during the stem cell transplant journey. “I’m so delighted to have started in this post. Going through illness and treatment is a highly psychological experience, and being able to offer a psychological perspective and support to both patients and the medical team ensures that care is more holistic and tailored to individual needs.” “If I had one message to share with someone who is going through a stem cell transplant right now, it would simply be “remember you are not alone.” Going through a stem cell transplant can be a strange and uncertain experience, and people may feel scared, overwhelmed or isolated at times – along with a multitude of other emotions. Remember that there is a dedicated healthcare team alongside you throughout the transplant and beyond who are there to help you through each step.” And what difference would Jonathan like to make to patients? “I want to help people live the highest quality of life possible, wherever they are in their stem cell transplant journey. Not only by supporting their emotional and psychological wellbeing, but also by helping people maintain or rediscover their sense of “self” beyond an experience of illness or treatment." Did you know, we have funded 24 healthcare professionals as we support patients at every step of their stem cell transplant journey? As we continue our lifesaving work, it’s just as important that every patient thrives, not just survives post-transplant, and bringing more healthcare professionals like Jonathan into the Anthony Nolan team will help us achieve this.

“The British Asian population is the largest minority ethnic group in the UK, and our collaboration seeks to address the global shortage of suitable stem cell donors for patients with South Asian heritage.” - Dr James Robinson, leader of the DATRI study We’re thrilled to share that we’ve partnered with Indian stem cell register DATRI in a pilot project that has the potential to reduce health inequalities and save even more lives. Within this partnership, we are supporting DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry to recruit an additional 10,000 Indian donors to their stem cell register, who could then go on to donate to patients in India, or anywhere in the world – including the UK, where South Asian patients make up the largest minority ethnic group. We are using cutting-edge data technologies, developed by Anthony Nolan researchers, to predict which areas in India most closely mirror the UK South Asian population, allowing recruitment to be targeted to areas which could then go on to help the most British Asian patients. This project will help patients just like Veer – whose family faced an agonising wait when they were told there were no matches for him on the global stem cell register – and Raj, who was told that due to his Indian heritage he had less chance of finding a good match. So far over 3,000 Indian donors have been recruited through the project, with 67 per cent of those having tissue types that have never been recorded by the DATRI register. Four of these donors have already gone onto donate to Indian patients, and several others have been identified as 10/10 matches for international patients. We’ll be sharing further updates as the project progresses, but you can find out more here: https://bit.ly/3YnPBkK Thank you so much to NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) for helping fund this project.

“We are so incredibly proud of Florence – she doesn’t need awards for us to know how special she is, but it is still incredible for her to be recognised in such a way. The four of us are just so excited to take part in an incredibly special night.” – Florrie’s mum, Stacey You might have spotted a familiar face on the TV last night - Florence Bark was awarded the Child of Courage award at the Pride of Britain Awards! As many of you will know, in 2022, Florrie was diagnosed with high risk acute myeloid leukaemia, needing a stem cell transplant to survive. We were able to find Florrie a cord stem cell transplant later that year, and her and her family have been sharing her journey – the highs and the lows – on social media ever since. She’s been on the This Morning sofa, has done TikTok dances with Alison Hammond, she’s sung her heart out at Taylor Swift, and even paid the Masked Singer stars a visit recently! Florrie shows remarkable courage and is a shining light of positivity everyday, and we couldn’t be prouder to see her win this award. 📸: @prideofbritain

"I signed up to Anthony Nolan when I was 19 years old. My friend (and colleague at the time) explained that he had a rare blood disorder, which usually an old white man would have. As one of many siblings of Somalian heritage he needed to find a matching donor. So I signed up hoping I could help someone like him, who is in need of a stem cell transplant." Meet Sabrina, the National Development Manager at ACLT. Today, she works with schools, workplaces and communities to encourage more people to consider joining the stem cell register, and becoming a blood donor. Like many people, Sabrina wasn’t aware of the stem cell register until her friend needed a stem cell transplant, but now she’s inspired everyday as she speaks to young people about the difference they could make to someone. We’re incredibly grateful to Sabrina and the team at ACLT for spreading the word, and making stem cell donation part of the conversation. #50YearsOfHope

“Reflecting on the whole process of claiming PIP, I think I lost out on up to three months of back pay – because when I had my telephone consultation, I told them when I was diagnosed, rather than when the symptoms started.” Working out how you’ll get by financially after being diagnosed with a lifechanging illness is tough – and there isn’t enough support. Elliot was employed full time until his diagnosis and subsequent stem cell transplant, and due to the huge financial impact of his diagnosis, he’s frequently considered returning to work earlier than advised. “I feel that working hard to better myself over the years can be a punishment financially when I come across hard times. After paying my national insurance for the past 33 years, I’m expected to live off £560 per month SSP, which ends after 6 months. Then, I will receive £367 per month – because I’m not intitled to Universal Credit.” The benefits system can be confusing – and our recent Cost of Living survey showed that many people found the process of applying difficult, and had a variety of negative experiences. This isn’t good enough – we’re calling on the government to reduce waiting times for PIP and other government benefits, and ensure all stem cell transplant and CAR-T patients receive the higher rate of PIP by default. “The system needs to be looked at, and adjusted accordingly – people affected with this punishing illness need better looking after financially, without the worry of how they will pay their rent, utilities, groceries and travel.” If you’re experiencing financial difficulties, our team are here to support you. Email us at patientinfo@anthonynolan.org, or give us a call on 0303 303 0303.

Did you know, almost 8 in 10 people believe charities should be environmentally sustainable? ♻️ Environmental sustainability is a real focus for us at Anthony Nolan, and with today being Sustainability Day, we thought we’d tell you a little more about what we’re doing. For us, becoming more environmentally friendly is another step in our journey towards caring for future patients. Over the last two years, we’ve been exploring our current level of environmental sustainability, and how climate change affects our lifesaving work. As a result, we’ve created our first Environmental Sustainability Strategy, which will enable us to outline key areas that need improving, and ensure sustainability is a focus during decision making. Here are just 5 small ways we’ve improved our environmental sustainability: - Moving to reusable bags for swab kits at events - last year our team received over 15,000 swabs from events! - Moved to plastic-free little lifesaver packs – gifts that mothers receive when they donate their child’s umbilical cord - Swapped inflatable plastic cheering sticks to celebrate our fundraisers, to recyclable cardboard versions - Updated the bins throughout our offices, labs and processing centres to provide clearer instructions for recycling - Introduced recycling bins for plastic pipette tip boxes (whilst a tiny part of the process, we use thousands every year!) There’s so much more to be done, but there’s lots going on in the background, and every small step counts. Find out more about our sustainability strategy: https://bit.ly/4ffZ0Sp

We’re excited to be heading to the Science Museum on 31st October, to take part in their Halloween Lates! At this spooky event, you’ll delve into the science of phobias, explain how to survive a zombie outbreak, shine a light on nature’s real-life monsters and explore how science has inspired some of the scariest stories ever told. Dario, from our labs team, will be running a talk on how your stem cells could be the perfect lifesaving material for a complete stranger, and then we’ll be asking you to craft something scarier than donating your stem cells (spoiler alert, it’s not that scary!) Find out more and book your free tickets today: https://bit.ly/3Y2N5k3

🗣️ Our scientists are back on the conference circuit! Colleagues from across Anthony Nolan recently attended the annual British Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (BSHI) conference in Manchester. This is a landmark conference that gives us an opportunity to show off our scientific expertise and impact in the stem cell transplant field. Over 20 Anthony Nolan colleagues were there to network, learn and share their work. From our research teams, Dr Thomas Turner, Dr Michaela Agapiou, Albert French, Dr Neema Mayor and Dr Chloe Anthias were all presenting their research. Thomas was nominated for Best Abstract, while Albert (pictured) was presenting his first scientific poster at a conference. The research we were showcasing included new insights into finding the best genetic matches between patients and donors, and an international collaboration to improve donor recruitment strategies. Keep an eye out for new research announcements in the coming months!