Plans for new stem cell donation centre unveiled

The Anthony Nolan charity hopes the centre will open in early 2025

Plans to open a new stem cell donation centre in Nottingham have been unveiled.

The facility, which will be run by the Anthony Nolan charity in partnership with National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), will be based at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC).

The charity said the centre would be a "game-changer" for blood cancer and blood disorder patients who require stem cell transplants, citing a "longstanding global shortage" of collection facilities.

Chief operating officer Nicola Alderson added: "We will have full control of when we can book the donors in and ensure that those cells are provided to the patient's medical team at the time they request them."

The Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre will based at the QMC

The charity said donors from across the UK would travel to the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre once open.

"The cell collection process is performed by using a cell separation machine that filters stem cells from the blood," it added.

"Cells collected for transplant are then couriered to the patient, who may be anywhere in the world waiting for their transplant."

Claire Gardella, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, said her daughter Sofia waited a year before she was able to have her first transplant.

Sofia, 10, had her first stem cell transplant when she was two years old

Sofia, now 10, was diagnosed with congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) – a condition that made it difficult for her body to clot blood - when she was a baby.

She was just two years old when she underwent her first stem cell transplant thanks to a donor from Germany.

Her mum described the wait as "agonising".

"It is wonderful to know this new centre will eliminate that stress and uncertainty for so many patients and families like us," Ms Gardella added.

Cells donated at the centre will also support research and development of new cell and gene therapies, by the NIHR Nottingham Clinical Research Facility, which could treat other life-threatening diseases.

Prof Stephen Ryder, co-clinical director of research and innovation at Nottingham University, said: "Not only will this new facility ensure patients can receive life-saving cells when they most need them, the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre meets with our ambition to drive forward our programme of experimental research which aims to both transform - and potentially save - many lives in years to come."

The charity hopes the centre will open in early 2025.