Stem cell donor success
LOUGHBOROUGH University has smashed the national record for stem cell donor recruitment at an event that will leave “a truly lifesaving legacy”.
Loughborough University, Loughborough Students’ Union, Anthony Nolan and the Rik Basra Leukaemia Campaign (RBLC) have broken the national record for the number of stem cell donors recruited in one day at a university, as a result of a major campus-wide drive.
A total of 2,056 eligible donors joined the Anthony Nolan register during the ‘Spit Happens’ event on Wednesday, March 15, with the previous record standing at 1,404.
Speaking about the achievement, Professor Steve Rothberg, pro vice-chancellor for research at Loughborough University and himself a recipient of a life-saving stem cell transplant, said: “I am incredibly proud of Loughborough staff and students, as well as our partners, for adding so many names to the register.
“A huge amount of teamwork and dedication has gone into this campaign and there’s no doubt that lives will be saved as a result.”
Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with blood cancer. The charity uses its register to match potential stem cell donors to blood cancer and blood disorder patients in need of stem cell transplants.
It also carries out pioneering research to increase stem cell transplant success.
Throughout the day multiple registration sites were set up across the Loughborough campus where individuals aged 16-30 could complete a short form, provide a saliva sample and join the register.
Rik Basra said: “Spit Happens was a truly remarkable collaborative drive to boost lifesavers on the Anthony Nolan register.
“It’s particularly poignant that a university with a worldwide reputation for health and fitness is doing so much to help those at the other end of the health spectrum.”
Since 1974, the Anthony Nolan register has made 15,000 stem cell transplants possible but it’s still the case that only 60 per cent of individuals in need of a transplant find the best possible life-saving match they need; this figure drops dramatically to just 20 per cent if you are from a black, Asian or ethnic minority background.
Ann O’Leary, head of register development at Anthony Nolan, commented on the day: “The donors who were recruited today will offer hope and a chance of life to patients in need of a transplant for decades to come – a truly lifesaving legacy.”
Further information on joining the register is available at www.anthonynolan.org