It’s the blood left in the placenta and umbilical cord after a woman has given birth.

Cord blood contains lots of stem cells, which can be used in lifesaving transplants and/or cell therapy for people with blood cancers & disorders.

Anthony Nolan collects cord blood in five hospitals in London, Manchester, Leicester. Collection only happens after the birth, when the baby is safely delivered. It’s totally risk-free for mothers and newborns.

We pride ourselves on having one of the best groups of tissue typing and immunogenetics experts in the UK.

Our Donor Selection Advisory Committee, made up of senior staff, advises our transplant centres on choosing donors.

The laboratories are accredited by UKAS and the European Federation for Immunogenetics.

We HLA type potential donors who join the Anthony Nolan register. Our laboratories also provide typing and virology services for stem cell transplant centres in the UK as well as support universities, colleges and many other companies with studies they may be undertaking. The laboratories support the Royal Free Hospital in London's renal and liver transplant programme too.

Anthony Nolan does not conduct animal research in our laboratories nor does it fund animal research in other institutes. However occasionally, when pioneering research requires it and there is no alternative available, we work with other researchers at academic institutions for example, to ensure the in vivo validity of our our research results.  These collaborative projects are usually sponsored by research councils, the EU or other charities. Anthony Nolan funds are only used for work carried out at our own laboratories where we do not conduct animal research. We adhere to the principles of the 3Rs,  where it is possible, however there are instances where the authorities that regulate the manufacture and production of new medicinal products will not allow new medicines until they are rigorously tested in animals.  We, like others, must adhere to regulations and therefore sometimes have no choice but to work with colleagues at other institutions in order to validate our results.  The use of animals in research is heavily regulated in the UK and can only be carried out under Home Office licensing in very special premises with specific permissions and by fully qualified personnel, which we ensure all our collaborators adhere to.

We would like to reassure you that we strive always to minimise the use of animal testing and find in vitro alternatives and that we ensure that if and when we have no alternatives, experimentation is conducted in the most appropriate ways following all the regulations and the principles of the NC3Rs (replace, reduce, refine).  We are fully committed to using human tissues/cells and other in vitro (in the test tube) testing for our research where we can and finding new ways in which our findings can be validated without the use of animals.

Cancer survival has doubled over the past 40 years. This achievement would not have been possible without animal research, which has resulted in the discovery, development and testing of life-saving treatments. As a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) we support the principle of using animals in research when it is necessary to advance understanding of health and disease and to develop new treatments.

It investigates how to improve transplantation practice. For example, how best to match donors and recipients.
The institute also looks at how to improve people’s recuperation by stopping disease relapse, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and infectious diseases.

You can find out more about the amazing research our staff are carrying out, including our impact, policies and who we work with, in Our Research section.

Established in 1996, our Research Institute aims to make bone marrow transplants more successful. Staff there do both basic and ‘translational’ research (looking at how to use basic scientific discoveries in the real world).

Yes, there are. You have to be between 16 and 30 and in good health. Take a look at our join the register page.

The British Bone Marrow Registry (operated by NHS Blood & Transplant) accepts donors between the ages of 17-40. You must be a blood donor to join the BBMR, as an extra sample of blood is taken when you donate. The BBMR is in particular need of donors from minority ethnic backgrounds; if you're interested, please ask at your blood donation session BEFORE you donate blood. Go to blood.co.uk for more information on your nearest blood donation session and how to sign up as a blood donor.

Putting people on the register who are statistically unlikely to be selected is not only expensive but also diverts our scientists away from processing the samples of younger volunteers who are more likely to be selected. We will save more lives by ensuring that we have a register of people who are most likely to be selected by transplant clinicians. Also we are proactively recruiting younger donors from minority ethnic backgrounds to increase the diversity of the register.

Please visit the NHS Blood & Transplant website for more information.