Unlocking new ways to treat every patient
We have half a century of experience and expertise in matching donors, saving lives and transforming futures for patients. But we’re still learning, still growing and still pushing the boundaries. We know there is so much more that can be done and we’re ambitious about doing it. So our strategy is ambitious too.
I’m delighted to share this new five-year strategy with you. I’m so proud of all we’ve achieved over the past 50 years, but we need to do even more. Because we know not everyone who needs a transplant can access one, and not everyone who has a transplant survives. And we know that simply surviving is not the same thing as thriving.
Henny Braund, CEO
We’re deeply committed to the patient of today and the patient of tomorrow and we are determined to achieve the most we possibly can for everyone who needs us. We’d love to have you with us for the journey
We're unlocking new ways to treat every patient
Our history
Over the next five years we’re determined to embrace the opportunities and innovations that we know will change the outcomes for so many more patients. Because they need and deserve nothing less. This pioneering spirit is what inspired Shirley Nolan in 1974 and is what still drives us today. It’s part of our natural evolution as an organisation and it’s our duty to continue to build on her incredible legacy.
Our vision
A future where every patient who needs us can survive and thrive.
Our purpose
Uniting people and science to unlock the cures, treatments and transplants that will transform the future for more patients.
Our aims
We are excited about what the future holds for our work and for every patient who needs a stem cell transplant or cell therapy. We have a lot to do but over the next five years we will focus particularly on the three areas of our work where we think we can have the greatest impact, and make the biggest difference for the most people.
Aim 1 – Survival
To give every transplant patient the best chance - and quality - of life.
My recovery was arguably the hardest part of my entire journey. So many emotions, a whirlwind, in fact. Anger, anguish, despair, disbelief, to name just a few. There’s the psychological impact of you being in hospital and everything that’s happening to you and everything that could go wrong, but also coming to terms with what’s happened to you.
Lewis
Aim 2 – Equity
To ensure all patients have the best access to, experience of and outcome from, treatment.
We come from Indian origin, and we knew that it was more difficult to find a match if you’re from an ethnic minority background, so we were very worried. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a perfect match in the whole world. In the end, they were happy to go ahead with a 6/8 match. So, she had her transplant on 16 June. Because it was a mismatch, it meant she had a lot of complications afterwards.
Mum of 10-year-old Zara
Aim 3 – Progress
To explore and embrace new cell therapies and make them available for patients more quickly.
Alyssa, 13, is the first patient in the world reported to have received a base-edited cell therapy to treat her resistant leukaemia. She was enrolled on to a new clinical trial involving genetically modified CAR T-cells at Great Ormond Street Hospital to treat her ‘incurable’ cancer. Just 28 days after receiving the modified T-cells, Alyssa was in remission! Without this experimental treatment, her only option would have been palliative care.
How we’ll achieve our aims
We’ll use the most powerful tools we have available to make these ambitions a reality:
- Discovery – Our pioneering research helps us push boundaries and influence for change.
- Data – Gathering and understanding rich data gives us vital insight into each patient’s needs.
- Donors – Anthony Nolan’s work simply wouldn’t be possible without our incredible donors.
Our commitment to equity
At Anthony Nolan, our vision is that all patients have the best access to, experience of, and outcome from cell therapies.
Achieving equity has always been at the heart of our work – ever since Shirley Nolan established the world’s first stem cell register to give her son, Anthony, the best chance of finding an unrelated stem cell donor.
Over 50 years on, more than 900,000 people have joined our register, and are ready to donate to patients like Anthony. And thousands of patients each year now have a stem cell transplant or cell therapy to treat blood cancer or a blood disorder. But we can’t stop there.
We know not everyone has equal access to these potentially lifesaving therapies. And not all patients have the same quality of experience, or likelihood of surviving without serious complications.
Patients’ outcomes and experiences are shaped by their ethnicity, age, location, health literacy, socioeconomic status, and more – and these factors intersect in complex ways.
We won’t stop until every patient that needs us can not only survive, but thrive.
We tackle the causes of inequity through every aspect of our work. Particularly:
- Research: we carry out cutting-edge research and work with trusted partners to uncover how and why disparities exist, understand how they can be tackled, and drive forward new approaches to treatment so everyone has the best chance of surviving and thriving.
- Donors: we implement evidence-based recruitment strategies to improve the ethnic diversity of our register to give more people the chance of a match. We also work to grow the cord blood bank, giving more options to those without full matches, and collaborate internationally to strengthen the global pool of donors. And we provide expert advice to medical teams on the best donors for patients with few or complicated matches.
- Policy: we lobby government to influence external policy and ensure more patients have equitable access and outcomes from cell therapies. Internally, our policies and processes make Anthony Nolan an inclusive environment for all and reflect our wholehearted commitment to equity.
Read more about our equity work here.
Be part of something amazing
We hope you’ll want to join us in these exciting future plans. Here are three easy ways you can be part of it and start saving lives today.
- Spread the word
Want to help us reach more supporters? Share this strategy with anyone you think will listen. Follow us on social media and get your friends on board too. - Join the register
If you’re aged 16-30, follow this link to see if you’re eligible to sign up as a potential donor. We’ll send you a swab kit if you are and you’ll be joining our incredible community of potential lifesavers. - Raise funds
Whether you want to run a marathon, organise a cake sale or donate some of your salary at source, our fundraising team is ready to hear from you here.
Find out more
If you want to know more about Anthony Nolan and our ambitious plans to transform the lives of our patients now and in the future, read our full five-year organisational strategy: