Following the announcement of our collaboration with Indian stem cell register, DATRI, we speak to Pradeep Thatai, who received a stem cell transplant from a donor in India in July 2022.
Pradeep’s stem cell transplant journey started with a routine blood test at his GP.
“My wife encouraged me to go for the test,” Pradeep said. “I got a call from the hospital almost straight after. The registrar told me I had some very odd results and my white blood cells were about 10 times what they should have been.’
After some follow-up tests at the hospital, Pradeep was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and told a stem cell transplant was his best chance of a cure. Working with Anthony Nolan, his care team started searching for a matching donor straight away.
“It was scary to go from thinking I was healthy to suddenly having such a serious diagnosis. What’s more, I didn’t know how long I might have to wait for my transplant.”
People from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to have a rare or unique tissue type, which can make it harder to find a matching donor on the stem cell register. In addition, just 16 per cent of donors on the aligned UK registers are from a minority ethnic background.
As Pradeep is of Indian heritage, he was told it may take longer than average to find a donor.
“I was expecting it to take months or even years to find a donor,” he said. “But within just a few weeks, I was told there was a 100% match for me. My donor was 40 years old and based in India. It was such a relief.”
It’s common for stem cell donor registries from across the world to collaborate to help find patients the best possible donor, wherever they’re based. But most registries are located in Northern European countries and made up of patients from white ethnic backgrounds. This means there aren’t as many options to find donors from Black, Asian and middle Eastern populations.
Luckily for Pradeep, a 12/12 match was signed up to an Indian registry, and able to donate straight away.
“Before long, my donated stem cells had been collected and flown across the globe, ready for my transplant,” he told us. “Two years later, my transplant has been successful and I’m now in full remission.”
“I can't thank the NHS, Anthony Nolan and the scores of doctors and nurses who cared for me enough. I feel like a very lucky person. They saved my life.”
“But most importantly, I feel so grateful to my donor. They live on the other side of the world to me, but it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today.”
While UK stem cell registers are working to recruit more people from minority ethnic backgrounds, research from Anthony Nolan shows recruiting from the UK population alone is not enough to fully address this disparity.
That’s why we’re partnering with DATRI, India’s largest stem cell register. In an innovative three-year pilot project, we will support DATRI to recruit an additional 10,000 Indian donors who could go on to donate to patients anywhere in the world, including the UK.
The project will use cutting-edge data technologies developed by Anthony Nolan researchers to predict which areas in India most closely mirror the UK South Asian population, allowing recruitment to be targeted to areas which could go on to help the most British Asian patients.
Dr James Robinson, head of bioinformatics at Anthony Nolan and leader of the study, said: “Finding matching donors is a critical challenge in stem cell transplantation, and it’s not good enough that some patients are less likely to access this potentially lifesaving treatment because of their ethnicity.
"We are thrilled to partner with DATRI on this important initiative. The British Asian population is the largest minority ethnic group in the UK, and our collaboration seeks to address the global shortage of suitable stem cell donors for this group.”
So far over 3,000 Indian donors have been recruited through the project, with 67 per cent of those having tissue types that have never been recorded by the DATRI register.
Four individuals so far have donated to Indian patients. Several others have been identified as 10/10 matches for international patients.
Pradeep said, “I’ve really wanted to give back since my transplant. I’m part of Anthony Nolan’s involvement group, which allows me to use my experiences to help shape their work.”
“Being able to give back to other people of Indian origin is also really important to me. Many like me might be worried they won’t find a match, or they might need support with understanding the healthcare system.”
“This project could make a huge difference to patients like me. Getting diagnosed and waiting for a donor is always scary – but knowing projects like this that are helping to reduce that time makes me feel very positive about the future.”
Find out more about the research, or learn more about signing up to the stem cell register.
