Legally, you can only give ‘informed consent’ to join when you’re over 16. 

A stem cell donation is voluntary and wouldn’t directly benefit you, so your parent/guardian can’t give consent on your behalf. 

Our upper age limit is 30 because our research has shown that stem cell transplants work better if the donor is younger so we focus our limited funds on recruiting donors aged 30 and under

Ready to register? Join now! Once you're on it, you could be asked to donate until you turn 61.

Aged 31+?

Young men are far more likely to be chosen to donate by transplant centres and provide more than half of all donations. Unfortunately, they only make up 18% of our register. There’s therefore an urgent need for more to sign up. Will you? Join now! 

Of course! Your sexuality won’t stop you joining our register. You’ll be subject to the same rules and health checks as everyone else. Join today!

Of course! You can join the register if you're taking PrEP. But if you're asked to donate between now and when you turn 61, then you might not be able to donate if you're still taking PrEP or took it in the months leading up to our request. This is because PrEP interferes with the testing process that all potential donors go through.

People from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have unique tissue types (the particular collection of HLA genes used for matching patients and donors for transplant), and this means it can be harder to find fully matched unrelated donors for them. 

So the more potential lifesavers from minority ethnic backgrounds there are on the stem cell register, the better the chances patients from minority ethnic backgrounds have of finding their lifesaving match.  

Ready to make a difference? Join today

No. You only need to be on one register as every time a patient needs a transplant, their hospital will contact Anthony Nolan and we will search all the potential donors in the UK and around the world to find a match.

Simply send your name and date of birth to our team so they can check for you. Email register.support@anthonynolan.org.

It’s ultimately up to a patient’s doctor to decide whether they need stem cells collected from the bloodstream or from the bone marrow. Their decision is based on what’s best for the patient.

If you came up as a match and then decided you didn’t want to go ahead, it could have serious consequences if the patient has already started their preparation treatment for a transplant. That’s why we ask you to be comfortable with both methods, and as fully committed to donating as possible when you sign up. 

We’ll only ask you to donate if you have a similar tissue type to someone in desperate need of a transplant. Most people on our register never donate.

Once you are on the register you have a 1 in 800 chance of being asked to donate in the next five years. 

However, it is worth knowing that your chance of being chosen to donate depends on your age and sex. A young man aged 16–30 has a 1 in 200 chance of being chosen to donate in the next five years. 

You can read through the whole process in detail on our PBSC donor page and bone marrow donor page. Remember to come back to this page to sign up when you’re ready!

Your recipient will have undergone a lot of treatment to get them to the day of their stem cell transplant. Your cells will allow their body to grow a brand-new immune system that can help stop their blood cancer or blood disorder from coming back.

In effect, you’ll have gifted them a second chance at life. How amazing is that?! 

No. It's a criminal offence under section 32 of the Human Tissue Act 2004 to offer, give or receive a reward for the supply of cells, and to publish any such offer or incentive of a reward.  

Anthony Nolan is regulated by the Human Tissue Authority, who are responsible for enforcing the Human Tissue Act. We are also accredited by World Marrow Donor Association, an international accreditation body for donor registries and cord blood banks. Their standards clearly state that donors must not be paid for their donation. 

Donating your stem cells is a very special thing to do, but it’s also quite a big deal. So it’s worth finding out as much as you can about the process and its possible side effects so you’re well prepared in case you’re someone’s perfect match! Find out more on our Things to Consider page.