Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to renew or extend the DHSC Stem Cell Programme funding of £400,000 per year to Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant respectively for the recruitment of minority ethnic and mixed heritage stem cell donors.

The Department’s Stem Cell Programme has facilitated the creation of a unified stem cell registry, a cord stem cell bank, and most recently included a focus on diverse donor recruitment to reduce health inequalities. The Department has agreed to a new three-year Memorandum of Understanding with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), providing £800,000 per year to support priorities identified by the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum. The programme will support projects aimed at improving donor availability and implementing the recommendations of the UK Stem Cell Strategic Forum Data Commission. It will include initiatives that improve access to stem cell transplantation for patients from minority ethnic and mixed heritage backgrounds. NHSBT will allocate half of the funding following an open funding call. Details of successful projects and funding allocations will be determined following completion of the application and assessment process.

There are growing challenges associated with recruiting and retaining volunteer stem cell donors. This is the experience of registries worldwide since the global COVID-19 pandemic. NHSBT and UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry partners continue to undertake targeted recruitment activities, including a particular focus on younger donors and donors from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, to support sustainable growth of the United Kingdom donor base and improve access to suitably matched donors for UK patients.

A range of factors may affect donor availability, including changes in personal circumstances and donor demographics. UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry partners continue to implement measures to improve donor engagement and retention and to reduce attrition throughout the donation pathway. The Department’s Stem Cell Programme will support the Data Commission recommendations and UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry activity to improve donor availability when identified as a potential match for a patient.

The Department has launched a comprehensive review of the current system to ensure stem cell supply and that use for transplantation is optimised. Donor recruitment and retention will be considered as part of this review.