More Britons than ever are being called upon to donate their bone marrow (or blood stem cells), as UK transplant centres are urged by experts to 'buy British' rather than importing stem cells from abroad.
Using British donors can save precious time when a blood cancer patient is urgently waiting for a stem cell transplant, as the much-needed cells don't need to travel so far. This can give critically ill people more hope of finding a matching donor in time, by reducing the 'agonising' wait for a transplant, according to experts.
New data released today in a review by Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant reveals that 367 Brits donated their stem cells to UK-based patients in 2013, after being found to be a match for someone with leukaemia or other blood disorders. Around 82% of those were male donors, and 61% were under 30 years old. The number of British adults donating to unrelated patients in the UK has increased by 7% since 2012, and is now thought to be at an all-time high.
Likewise, lifesaving stem cell transplants from umbilical cord blood are increasingly coming from the UK. Cord blood is rich in stem cells that can be used for lifesaving transplants in place of bone marrow. In 2011, the UK accounted for less than 5% of the cords used in UK transplants with the rest being imported, at great expense to the NHS, from overseas public cord banks. This year, over 25% of UK cord provision will come from the UK.
However, although things are moving in the right direction, most UK patients are still receiving their stem cells from overseas donors - 552 patients (52%) had to look to international adult bone marrow registers in order to find a match last year.
When someone in the UK needs a transplant, a search for a matching donor takes place. If there is no suitable match on the UK register, transplant centres can search the global network of international registers and import the matching stem cells. While this option is absolutely crucial as a last resort, it is preferable to find a donor from within the UK if possible, as this can speed up the process of getting the stem cells to a patient who is in desperate need, as well as offering better value to the NHS and the taxpayer.
Lynda Hamlyn CBE, Chief Executive of NHS Blood and Transplant explains: "Often a stem cell transplant is a blood cancer patient's last chance of survival, and every day counts when someone is waiting for a match. The agonising wait for a transplant can be reduced if hospitals are able to 'buy British', rather than finding a match on an international bone marrow register. We want to help them do that by widening the pool of British donors so that it's easier to find a match from within the UK."
Anthony Nolan manages the single UK bone marrow register, which it searches to find matching stem cell donors for blood cancer patients. This is known as the 'Anthony Nolan NHS Stem Cell Registry', and is aligned with the NHS British Bone Marrow Registry and the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
These various UK bone marrow registers became fully aligned in September 2013; a partnership that offers the potential to save many more lives in the future by speeding up the search for donors.
Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant are now working closely together to recruit more black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) donors to the aligned Registry, reducing the need to spend time searching for overseas donors.
Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan, explains: "International donors can be a lifeline for people from ethnic minority communities, as BAME donors are worryingly under-represented on the UK Registry. But rather than relying too heavily on the international market, we must try to diversify our own Registry to give black and minority ethnic patients in need the very best chance of survival, by speeding up their journey to a transplant. We should also focus our efforts on signing up more young men to the UK Registry, as this latest data shows that they're significantly more likely to go on to donate."
Andrew Parry, 23, is at RAF Brize Norton. He signed up to the bone marrow register in July 2011 after signing up at a recruitment event organised by his Sergeant, who had received a bone marrow transplant and recovered from cancer as a result.
Andrew remembers: "Anthony Nolan asked me if I wanted to continue and said that I needed to go through more tests to see how much of a match I was. I spoke to the Sergeant here and told him I might be a match for someone. He said "Look, it's completely up to you, but I got help through Anthony Nolan and I'm still alive now because of someone else who was in your position".
"I would do it again. I think it's a worthwhile thing to do. It's something people should get involved in - they might never get the call but if they do, they could be saving someone's life."