Earlier this year, we announced our plans to open the Anthony Nolan Stem Cell Collection Centre.
Opening in the coming months, the centre will ensure life-saving stem cells can reach patients with blood cancer and blood disorders when they need them and help reduce pressures on the NHS.
Cells donated at the centre will also support the research and development of new cell and gene therapies, which could treat other life-threatening diseases.
Lindsay is head nurse at the new centre. She and her team are working hard to set up the ward, get processes in place, and make sure everything is ready to welcome donors through our doors next year.
We caught up with her to find out what brought her to Anthony Nolan, and her hopes for what impact the centre will bring.
Tell us about yourself and your role at the collection centre
I’m what I class as an ‘old school nurse’ – I got into nursing to make a difference. And that’s stayed with me my whole career.
I originally trained as a paediatric nurse, and did just shy of 12 years of paediatric critical care looking after young patients with cancer and blood disorders as well as many other conditions. After that, I moved into Research delivery, my final role was managing the clinical research facility at Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre, I helped my team to set up new early phase research studies and make sure they would be safe for the patients involved.
The clinical research facility is where our new cell collection centre will be based. I’ll be leading the team of nurses at the centre and helping to make sure all our collections happen smoothly and safely.
What made you want to work at Anthony Nolan’s Cell Collection Centre?
I love the fact something like this hasn’t been done before. This will be Anthony Nolan’s very first dedicated cell collection centre, and by relieving pressure on the NHS and getting donors in faster, we’ll be able to make a phenomenal difference for the patients receiving transplants.
And then there’s the potential for research. Having our own centre will mean we can conduct even more research into making stem cell transplants safer and more effective. Or donors' cells could be used for the research and development of other treatments, for completely different diseases.
There’s just so much potential – that’s what makes it exciting.
What inspires you most in your role?
Without a doubt, it’s the donors. They are doing such an incredible and selfless act for someone they don’t even know. You can’t not be inspired by that.
One of the things the new centre will allow us to do is find ways to make our donors’ experience better. Even small things, like would they rather give their donation from a bed, or would they be more comfortable in a chair? It may not seem as important, but it’s all part of their experience, and we want to make sure we make this as positive as possible for them.
I’m looking forward to being able to give back to our donors in this way.
What are you looking forward to most about the centre opening?
Everything! We’re at a really exciting stage now – we’re recruiting our team of nurses, getting machinery delivered and tested, and setting up our processes.
I can't wait to see all the hard work come together and to see how successful the centre will be.
I also can’t wait to meet our donors. They’re the ones who are going to make the centre, and Anthony Nolan’s lifesaving transplants, possible.
Every 14 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer. A stem cell transplant from a stranger can be their only hope. Join the stem cell register and you could help save a life.