Stem Cell Highlights 2025/2026 Reflections
Anthony Nolan have agreed a two-year project with a Blackburn charity to support a stem cell drive in the northwest.
1VB – 25/26
You wanted to deliver at least six recruitment events each year, including a mix of educational settings and all-day community café events.
You held six recruitment events as well as utilising your own networks and ordering letterbox lifesaving kits!
You wanted to invite the Anthony Nolan team to attend your events and take part in filming where possible.
Jem came to Blackburn to support the filming of your latest video, and Jem, Holly and Rowena will be returning in March 2026 to attend the 1VB awards evening, where they will be interviewed by one of your young people.
1VB - Recruitment
You wanted to: recruit between 200 and 300 donors each year
You wanted to: engage young people aged 16–19 to actively support recruitment to the register.
You wanted to use the national reach of the video to support your ambition of up to 300 sign-ups per year.
1VB plays a crucial role in recruiting donors from communities underrepresented on the stem cell register.
Through school and college events, community outreach, and open conversations about faith and donation, you have recruited 296 new donors from April 25 — exceeding key targets within our priority groups.
These communities are essential to achieving equity and giving every patient the best possible chance of finding a life-saving match.
You also recruited 41 new donors via your Letterbox Lifesaver kits!
You wanted to co-design merchandise and marketing materials with Anthony Nolan and continue to promote these within your programme, building on progress made in 2024/25.
As well as the co-designed materials you developed earlier in the year to support your events, we have more recently designed a takeaway card that we believe will have a significant impact across all activity.
Providing clear guidance for those considering stem cell donation, helping build confidence among volunteers and staff, and supporting our mission in achieving equity for our patients.
1VB - Stem Cell Donation is Permissible in Islam
You wanted to produce a new video, building on the success of the previous funding round, that can be used locally and nationally by Anthony Nolan.
You wanted to address religious barriers to stem cell donation by featuring local imams/priests in the video, advocating for stem cell donation and helping to overcome recent pushbacks.
Your video has now been shared beyond your local area by Anthony Nolan staff, volunteers, and partner organisations, helping the message reach a much wider audience, to educate, reassure, and inspire more people to join the stem cell register, particularly by addressing religious concerns in a clear and accessible way, being viewed more than 46,000 times!
You designed the video to build trust and confidence around stem cell donation, and the feedback received has been incredible, with strong positive responses from both the community and partners.
1VB – (Just a couple!) Video Feedback Quotes
"This video is brilliant! Well done to all of you, as you say it's really powerful and personal, and I'm sure it will have a huge impact." Stories Manager – Anthony Nolan
"This is really great, thanks for sharing!" Senior Performance Marketing Manager – Anthony Nolan
"This is just lovely, thank you for sharing." Head of Corporate Partnerships – Anthony Nolan
"Thanks for sharing this – this video is so good!
I went to the marrow conference and some students from Manchester were speaking to me about what sort of influencers they’d like to see Anthony Nolan collaborate with and they’d mentioned they’d like to see more Muslim content creators speak about Anthony Nolan to challenge the misconceptions of donating stem cells within Islam – and this video is brilliant in doing this.
Marketing Manager – Anthony Nolan
1VB - More Than Recruitment
1VB impacts far more than signing people up to the register.
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Your work includes:
Busting myths around faith and stem cell donation
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Creating educational resources such as videos with local Imams
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Addressing questions about the permissibility of donation in Islam
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Supporting communities by providing accurate, accessible information
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Strengthening trust between Anthony Nolan and local communities
Let's not forget, Nazia met the KING!
