Black patients face greater barriers to life-saving stem cell matches, MPs warn
The parliamentary inquiry highlights persistent inequalities in donor matching and calls for a single body to oversee stem cell provision
Thousands of patients needing life-saving stem cell transplants could be at risk because of major shortcomings in the UK’s donor system, with ethnic minority patients among the hardest hit, a new parliamentary report has warned.
The report, Fit for Everyone: Rebuilding a Resilient and Equitable UK Stem Cell Supply, warns that the current system lacks resilience, long-term planning and accountability, potentially jeopardising treatment for people with blood cancers and other serious blood disorders.
MPs also raised concerns about persistent racial inequalities, noting that patients from Black, Asian, mixed heritage and other minority ethnic backgrounds face greater difficulty finding compatible stem cell donors.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Ethnicity, Transplantation and Transfusion, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call.
“This report raises urgent questions about whether the UK’s stem cell transplant system is truly fit for the future,” she said.
“Patients with blood cancer and other life-threatening conditions depend on a system that is resilient, properly coordinated and equitable, yet our findings show serious gaps in accountability, planning and fairness.
“The inequalities facing minority ethnic and mixed heritage patients are especially alarming.
“Too many patients are still unable to find a matching donor, and shockingly, we do not even have complete data on how many people are missing out on potentially life-saving transplants.”
The MP added: “This review must become a turning point for reform.”
The report was published by the APPG on Ethnicity, Transplantation and Transfusion amid growing concern about the future sustainability of the UK’s stem cell supply system.
It concludes that the current model is fragmented and lacks clear leadership, making it harder to deliver equitable outcomes for patients.
Among its headline recommendations is the appointment of a single organisation accountable to ministers and the public for stem cell provision across the UK.
The report identifies NHS Blood and Transplant as the most suitable body to lead that work, mirroring its existing role in organ and blood donation services.
The APPG is also urging sweeping reforms, including the appointment of a single body to oversee stem cell provision nationwide, improved data collection on transplant access and outcomes, and a new strategy to tackle ethnic inequalities in donor matching.
The report further calls for greater government oversight and long-term planning to help secure a sustainable donor supply.
Its publication follows sustained campaigning by the APPG for an independent examination of the UK’s stem cell supply system.
The Department of Health and Social Care has since confirmed that a national review, led by Professor John Forsythe, will take place.
Ms Ribeiro-Addy is due to meet Professor Forsythe today to discuss both the review and the report’s findings.
These findings come days after Hyphen reported a 1,600% surge in stem cell donor registrations among people of African and Caribbean heritage following a social media campaign by Nidahl Hamdan, 24, whose mother is seeking a life-saving donor match.
Blood cancers have also received renewed public attention through an EastEnders storyline centred on character Denise Fox’s diagnosis with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Stem cell transplants, sometimes known as bone marrow transplants, are used to treat conditions including leukaemia, lymphoma and sickle cell disease.
Successful transplantation depends on finding a closely matched donor, something that experts say remains significantly harder for patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
For patients awaiting a stem cell transplant, finding a suitable donor can mean the difference between life and death, making the report’s calls for reform all the more urgent.
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