Volunteer as a donor visitor

We need people to support our lifesavers while they’re in hospital

Our donors really are remarkable, giving stem cells to save the lives of total strangers. It’s only right, then, that they have the best possible experience when they’re donating.

To make sure they do, our brilliant team of donor visitors meet our donors in hospital, give them information and support them through the process.

Our donor visitors tell us it’s really rewarding. So if you enjoy communicating with people and are happy to learn about donation, get involved too.

What does being a donor visitor involve?

Donations take place either at one of our three London collection centres, or at our collection centre in Sheffield.

So if you’re based in one of these cities and able to make your own way to the collection centres, we’d love to hear from you.

We’ll train you to give important information to the donor on the day of their donation, and answer any questions they have. Visits take anything from 10 minutes to an hour – it depends on how talkative the donor is!

Ideally we’d like someone who is able to volunteer for a least two days a month to visit our donors. As all our visits take place Monday to Thursday during the day, you will need to be free during normal working hours.

Visits are usually in the morning but you may also need to meet after lunch.

As it can take several months to complete the training to be a donor visitor we hope that you continue in the role for at least a year.

We also expect you to be available to attend an initial training session and annual training day

What skills do I need?

You’ll need good communication skills.

You’ll have to communicate important information to donors on the day of their donation. You’ll need to be able to listen to the donor, empathise with them and remember to email feedback to the Anthony Nolan team within 24 hours of your visit.

You should also be good at having a bit of a natter as this helps the donor to pass the time and feel at ease while they’re donating.

You’ll also need good coping skills. Very rarely, a problem may arise during a donation. You’ll need to be able to comfort the donor. You will always have the full support of the Anthony Nolan team, who can guide you through any situation.