Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the NHS is of sourcing a haematopoietic stem cell donation from the UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry compared to stem cell donation imports from United States, Germany and Poland; and what the oversight mechanism is for agreeing these costs.

Details on the costs of haematopoietic stem cell transplants are not held centrally by the Department.

The UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry supplies stem cells from United Kingdom donors to the National Health Service. It is made up of four partners: Anthony Nolan and DKMS UK, which are both independent charities; NHS Blood and Transplant; and the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry. The cost to the NHS for provisions of donated peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs), cord blood units and donor lymphocytes from UK sources is reviewed annually by the UK Aligned Registry partners and reflects the costs involved in the provision of cell products. Costs are communicated to transplant centres by Anthony Nolan on behalf of the Aligned Registry, with due notice of implementation. Cost increases are maintained at or below inflation with adjustments to avoid any corresponding large increase in a given year.

For products from international sources, Anthony Nolan is the importing organisation. Products are charged at the international registry fee plus a flat service fee. The international registry fee can vary significantly, depending on the organisation or country from which the product is being imported, the graft source, whether it be PBSCs, bone marrow or cord blood units, and the current foreign exchange rate. The service fee includes: management and maintenance of the search system and international search connections; facilitating the import of the stem cell product; quality assurance and management; and legal and insurance costs for the import of stem cell products.

Fees for both UK and international cell products are charged directly to NHS transplant centres. NHS England has oversight of the tariff paid to NHS hospitals to cover the cost of unrelated donor transplantation and individual NHS hospitals or Trusts oversee how funds for unrelated transplants are allocated.

The choice of donor is made by the medical team, who choose the donor they feel will be best for their patient, whether that is a donor available in the UK or one available overseas.