UK Department of Health Invests £4 Million in Stem Cell Services

This July, the UK government announced they will be investing an additional £4 million to aid in the countries stem cell collection efforts through a collaboration between NHS Blood and Transplant (National Health Services) and the Anthony Nolan Trust (a charitable organization).

Public Health Minister Anne Milton stated "This extra £4 million will help to save the lives of many more people who need bone marrow transplants. I look forward to seeing this project make a real difference to patients."

The collaborative effort will focus on three key elements:

• NHS Blood and Transplant will effectively merge their bone marrow registry databases with those maintained by Anthony Nolan, allowing them to speed up donor searches to find potential matches quicker and easier.
• A £1.9 million contract between Anthony Nolan and the Department of Health will see the charity become the single contact point for NHS transplant units looking for a suitably matched adult donor or stem cell unit to further aid in finding suitable transplant matches faster.
• Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant will receive an additional £2 million to allow for the expansion of their collection facilities, including both the opening of a new collection facility, and extended hours at their existing sites.

More information on the project can be found at the Department of Health's web site.