Find out more about our partnership with Anthony Nolan 🙌Â
Everyday Anthony Nolan gives three people a second chance at life.
We are thrilled to partner with Anthony Nolan, the charity that makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and incredible strangers. The charity uses its stem cell donor register to help find potential matches for blood disorder and blood cancer patients. It also carries out pioneering research to increase stem cell transplant success and supports patients through their transplant journeys.Â
Unity at NEXT work very closely with the charity to help raise awareness of and diversify the Anthony Nolan stem cell donor register. This partnership aims to support, contribute to their vital work and raise awareness about the impact of blood cancer and disorders on individuals and their families.
It’s particularly important that people from minority ethnic backgrounds join the stem cell register. Having a wide range of ethnicities on the charity’s stem cell register is vital to ensure everyone has the best chance of surviving blood cancer and blood disorders.
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The Impact of ethnicity on stem cell transplant outcomes.
Conducted by Anthony Nolan and the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, this study looked at over 30,000 patients who had a stem cell transplant between 2009 and 2020 in the NHS, including 19,000 cancer patients. It accounted for factors including age, disease type, transplant type and level of donor matching. Patients had previously identified whether their ethnicity was Asian, Black, White or Other (patients of more than one ethnicity or any other declared ethnicity).  Â
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Key results:
Ethnicity was found to have a significant impact on patients who received a transplant using donor cells, with no impact of ethnicity seen for patients who had a transplant using their own cells.   Â
Patients from all minority ethnic backgrounds were found to have an increased risk of fatal complications following a donor transplant compared to White patients.   Â
This increased risk continued until five years after transplant.  Â
The most pronounced differences were in children with cancer. Asian children had a 32 per cent risk of death within five years of a donor transplant compared with a 15 per cent risk in White patients. Â
You can read more about the study here
Get Involved
“We are incredibly excited to join in partnership with Anthony Nolan. Their work in boosting stem cell donor sign-ups, especially among minority ethnic communities, is truly inspiring. It's disheartening to see that fewer patients from ethnic minorities who need a stem cell transplant have a stem cell donor already on the register — this health inequality is really concerning. Working together with Anthony Nolan we have a chance to make a real difference and save more lives. This collaboration fills us with anticipation and hope for a brighter future.”
James Nyamuda, Chair of Unity at NEXT.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that all patients have the best access to, experience of and outcome from treatment, no matter their background. NEXT’s Unity group’s focus on equality and diversity makes them an ideal partner for us, and I’m so pleased they’ve selected us for this new partnership."
Henny Braund MBE, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan.