Why we're campaigning
Cell therapies, like stem cell transplant and CAR-T, can significantly impact a patient’s fertility. Despite this, many patients receive inadequate information about how to manage their fertility. Poor fertility advice and support often affect children and young people the most, leaving young people without the information, support and continuity of care they need.
Patients also face a postcode lottery in access to fertility preservation and storage. In England, each integrated care board (ICB) sets its own policy, despite national best practice guidance.
How you can support
Email your local MP
Support our campaign by writing to your MP to call for an end to the postcode lottery and greater investment in fertility services for cell therapy patients.
- Find your MP’s email address by entering your postcode on the government website.
- Then use our template letter to contact them.
Subject: Support our campaign - End the fertility postcode lottery for cell therapy patients
Body:
Dear [MP name],
As your constituent, I would like to bring your attention to the postcode lottery in access to fertility services for patients treated with cell therapies. Anthony Nolan is currently campaigning to improve these services nationally and I would like your support on this issue.
[Insert 1-2 sentences about your experience with or connection to Anthony Nolan, and why your MP’s support is important to you.]
Cell therapies and the harsh conditioning treatments involved can significantly impact a patient's fertility by damaging reproductive materials, affecting hormone levels, and sometimes causes permanent infertility. Every patient is affected differently, making consistent access to fertility services an integral aspect of care to ensure long-term quality of life post-treatment.
Each ICB has its own policy on fertility preservation and storage, meaning that the information, support, and available options are a postcode lottery for cell therapy patients. This adds additional emotional and practical challenges for patients in an already challenging time.
Anthony Nolan is calling for three key policy changes to improve fertility care for patients who are receiving cell therapies:
- End the postcode lottery for fertility preservation and testing.
- Invest in fertility education and training for the cell therapy workforce.
- Ensure children and young people have long-term access to specialist fertility support.
As your constituent, I would be extremely grateful to you for your support in making patient voices heard and highlighting this issue. To support the campaign, you can:
- Contact your local ICB and ask them to urgently review their guidelines against NICE’s new best practice guidance, so fertility care is equitable across the UK. Encourage them to go further by funding testing of cryopreserved materials and post-treatment fertility.
- Raise a question in Parliament or submit an Early Day motion, calling for better, more consistent fertility care for all cell therapy patients, particularly long-term specialist support for children and young people.
- Write to the Department of Health and Social Care calling for greater investment in fertility education and training for the cell therapy workforce.
If you would be open to taking any of these actions, please contact public.affairs@anthonynolan.org who would be delighted to supply supporting materials and discuss further.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your postcode]
I was diagnosed at 20 and needed to have treatment imminently. Everything moved so quickly that there was no time to freeze my eggs before the transplant. A consultant told me treatment could affect my fertility, but I didn’t feel I had enough information to understand what that might mean for me in the long term.
Rosie, stem cell transplant recipient
Further information and support
You can read more on our Fertility and stem cell transplant page.
Our Patient Services Team can provide Support for patients and families whenever you need us.