What does ‘donating for medical research and treatments’ mean?
Medical research aims to improve our understanding of health, disease, and the human body, and can also aid in the discovery of new treatments. It can range from early lab-based studies through to clinical trials. This research needs donated cells from healthy donors, like you, to make sure that when treatments reach patients, they are safe and effective.
Cell and gene therapies are an exciting part of medical research and are evolving quickly. They have the potential to offer more effective and personalised treatments for diseases which historically have been difficult, or in some cases were thought to be impossible, to treat safely. These treatments could not only save more lives but help to improve patients’ quality of life as well.
So, in addition to being available to match to a patient in need of a stem cell transplant, donors on the Anthony Nolan stem cell register could also have the opportunity to donate their cells to support medical research & treatments.
Who are we working with?
We work with with leading medical researchers to support their work and provide opportunities for our incredible donors to help. This involves working with lots of different types of organisations, including hospitals, academic institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
To ensure that Anthony Nolan only supports ethically sound and patient-benefitting medical research, an independent review board will assess each new medical research application before agreeing to collaborate.
The difference you could make
By donating your cells, you have the opportunity to impact even more lives. One donation for a medical research project could unlock new discoveries and help shape the future of treatments for many patients.
In medical research, different types of blood cells can be used to understand how the human immune system works, what happens when it goes wrong, and how it could be reprogrammed to help fight disease. This makes them a valuable source of information for medical researchers looking to better understand life threatening/limiting conditions and how they could be treated.
Your cells could also contribute directly to new cell therapies that are being investigated in clinical trials, directly benefiting patients immediately, whilst facilitating the approval of new treatments for more patients in future.
You can find out more about the types of research projects that your cells could contribute to here!
To find out more about the specific project you have been invited to take part in, take a look at the email you’ve been sent by our Donor Provision team, and ask your Coordinator if you have any questions.
We’re all very lucky to have amazing medical science in the UK should we ever need it, so this was a chance for me in a small way to give back.
George
What does donating involve?
There are a number of different donation types requested by our research partners. You may be asked to donate:
- Blood - we currently only collect small volumes of whole blood (less than 70ml) for medical research & treatments. You may be asked to donate some of your whole blood at the same time as a lymphocyte or PBSC donation, or you may be asked to donate at a standalone appointment.
- Lymphocytes – these are your white blood cells which exist naturally in your blood stream. They are collected by a process called apheresis. For more information on the donation process, please follow the links for each cell type.
- Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) – these are also collected via apheresis, and you will require some injections in the days leading up to your donation to ensure you have lots of stem cells ready for collecting in your blood stream.
For a lymphocyte or PBSC donation, you will need to attend a medical appointment before you can donate so that we can make sure you are fighting fit for donation. You can read more about what the medical entails here.
Both your medical and donation appointments will most likely take place at our dedicated Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre in Nottingham. As we are generally unable to arrange donations for medical research & treatments at a more local centre to you, please take a moment to consider if you are able to travel to Nottingham (including taking time off work or studies) before applying to join the research donor panel
We’ll handle all the arrangements for your appointments so that you can focus on being ready to donate. Where necessary, we will:
- Book travel and accommodation for you up front (and a companion, if you’d like to bring someone with you) so that you can comfortably attend your appointments
- Reimburse other reasonable expenses incurred, including further transport costs and refreshments
- Reimburse loss of earnings if you need to take unpaid leave from work
- Provide some information to share with your employer or place of study to explain why you are needed and how important your donation is
Your decision
Whether you choose to donate for a medical research & treatments project is completely up to you and will not affect your status on the stem cell register and ability to be matched to a patient in need of a transplant. You can read more about the important things to consider when donating here.
We recommend discussing the idea of donating with your friends and family before proceeding to the next stage. You can change your mind at any time, and we want to make sure you’re well informed before you decide.
Interested in donating for medical research and treatments?
Thank you for your interest in helping us to save and improve even more lives!
Who are we asking?
We are only asking people to donate for medical research & treatments who are already on our stem cell register, and who are based within relatively easy reach of our Nottingham Collection Centre.
Have questions?
If you have any questions that haven’t been covered on this page (check out our FAQs section below), you can either include these in your registration, or email us directly at researchdonors@anthonynolan.org and a member of our team will come back to you as soon as we can.
Not on the Anthony Nolan Stem Cell Register?
We don’t have a separate register for medical research donors. Individuals who are willing to donate cells for a patient in need and are eligible to join the Anthony Nolan register can do so online at Join the stem cell register.
Once you've been added to the stem cell register, you can come back here and register your interest to donate for research too.
Register your interest
If you are a donor on our registry and are interested in donating your cells for medical research & treatments, please register your interest by following the link below:
Being on the Medical Research Donor Panel
What are the first steps?
Donors who would like to donate their cells to medical research & treatments will need to be enrolled on to the Medical Research Donor Panel. To be enrolled you will need to complete a pre-screening questionnaire. This covers your general health, your availability and your preferences for the use of your cells.
Once you have completed this and it’s been cleared against our medical guidelines, you will be enrolled on to the Medical Research Donor Panel.
What happens when I'm on the Medical Research Donor Panel?
Once you are enrolled, you can expect to hear from Anthony Nolan every time a medical researcher requests a donation for their project. We will contact you via email with the date, time, type of donation, and a bit of background on the research project to see if you are available and interested to donate. It's your choice if you want to donate to the request. Please feel free to reach out to your Anthony Nolan Coordinators if you have any questions.
For each request we try to find two donors: a primary and a secondary - just in case one donor can't donate for any reason.
If you are available and interested, let us know by completing the survey linked in the invitation email. We will tell you if you are the primary donor or the secondary donor, and walk you through the next steps in the donation process.
Going on to donate
Before you can donate, your coordinator will arrange a medical examination at the collection centre. The medical is a series of checks and tests to ensure it would be safe for you to donate. You can read about what this involves here.
If you have already had a medical in the last 6 months, you may need to repeat some tests to ensure you are still fit and safe to donate. Your coordinator will arrange this with you.
Primary & Secondary Donors
As mentioned above, for each donation request we will organise two donors – a primary and a secondary.
Both donors will attend a medical (or have repeat blood tests if they’ve already had a medical in recent months), and both will need to be available to donate on the requested date.
If the primary donor is cleared and able to go ahead, they will go on to donate for the request. The secondary donor, if medically cleared, will remain on the Medical Research Donor Panel and will be asked first as a priority for any future donation requests.
If the primary donor is not cleared or cannot go ahead to donate for any reason, the secondary donor (provided they have been cleared) will go forward for the donation instead. Your Anthony Nolan Coordinator will lead you through each and every step up until your donation.
Your questions
Can I choose which method I donate by?
The donation type is determined by the specific scientific needs of the medical research project, so you can’t choose the method of donation for a specific request. You can tell us which donation methods you prefer (PBSC, lymphocytes, or whole blood) when you register your interest, and we will only contact you with requests that match your preferences.
Can I find out the outcome of the medical research?
Please ask if you would like to find out more about the medical research project you’re involved in. We will try our best to give you as much information as we can; however it is often not possible for us to provide information about the outcomes of research. This can be for confidentiality reasons, or simply because research takes many years to be published and shared with the public.
Following our social media channels is a great way of staying up-to-date with the latest research advances and what they mean for patients.
Will I still be able to donate to a patient?
Of course! You will not be taken off the register and will still be available to be selected as a match for a transplant patient. If you are chosen as a preferred donor for a transplant patient, we will cancel your donation for medical research, no matter how far along we are in the process. Donation to a transplant patient always takes priority, because you would be a specific match to that patient, and timing is crucial for those in need of a stem cell transplant.
You can also donate more than once, so taking part in a medical research project will not stop you from being chosen as a matching transplant donor in the future. People who donate via PBSC or bone marrow can do so for a maximum of two transplant patients or four times in total. Donating for medical research will count as one transplant patient.
Can I donate for medical research & treatments more than once?
The short answer is, yes! But there are a few restrictions you should be made aware of:
- Lymphocyte & whole blood donations – There is no set limit on the number of times you can donate your lymphocytes or whole blood in your lifetime. This means that donors who would like to remain on the research donor panel and donate lymphocytes or whole blood more than once, are able to do so. You will have to wait at least 3 months between donations to ensure that your body has fully recovered from the previous donation, but we will make sure to check this before booking you in for a new donation.
- PBSC donations - You are only able to donate via PBSC a maximum of four times in your life, or to a maximum of two patients. As such, we only allow donors to donate PBSC for medical research & treatments once, to ensure that they are able to stay on the stem cell register to potentially donate to a patient for transplant. You can still go back onto the research donor panel after a PBSC donation, but you will only be eligible to donate lymphocytes or whole blood for future requests. The same rule applies for those donors who have previously donated PBSC to a patient and wish to join our research donor panel – you will only be eligible to enrol as a lymphocyte or whole blood donor for research.
I'm not yet 18, can I still donate for medical research?
Yes! 16 and 17 year olds are eligible to join the Anthony Nolan stem cell register for patient transplant, and therefore can donate for research too.
It is worth bearing in mind that donors under the age of 18 who require accommodation the night before any appointments must be accompanied by a friend or relative over the age of 18.
Will I be getting paid to donate my cells for medical research?
You will not receive any payment for donating your cells for medical research, as this is not allowed in the UK and also comes with ethical and welfare risks (read more here). However, any expenses you incur at all for the donation - like travel, accommodation or loss of earnings - will either be booked and paid for on your behalf, or will be fully reimbursed.
Will my cells be used in animal testing?
While Anthony Nolan’s own researchers do not work with animals, as an active part of the international medical research community and a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), we recognise that animal research is crucial for the development of new treatments to help save lives. As such, we do work with other organisations where animal research is required to develop and improve treatments.
We ensure that all organisations we work with conform to the 3Rs - Replace, Refine, Reduce - and adhere to the UK's strict regulations (ASPA 1986). You can read more about our position on animal testing here.
During the consent process, you will have the chance to opt out of donating for research involving animals.
Will the researchers receive any of my personal information?
We will never share your name, address or contact details with the researchers, and any information we do share will be anonymised. This could include: your age, gender, tissue type, health status, ethnicity, and/or infectious disease profile.
Does Anthony Nolan make money from stem cell donations?
Anthony Nolan receives payment for the service it delivers providing donated cells to medical researchers. Anthony Nolan is a non-profit organisation. This vital income is reinvested into delivering on our charitable aims – saving and improving more lives; supporting the patients of today; and championing ground-breaking medical research for the patients of the future.
Where do I need to be based to be eligible to donate?
We are looking to recruit donors to our medical research & treatments panel who are within relatively easy reach of our dedicated Cell Collection Centre in Nottingham. This is because the majority of donations and medical appointments will need to take place at the centre.
As a guide, please take a look at the following postcodes map to see if you would be eligible to join the panel currently:
*We are actively recruiting donors in the green zone, but will accept registrations from donors in the purple zone
Lots of people think that donating is going to be painful, so every time I've spoken to someone about it I've explained how easy it is.
Emma