NHS stem cell register welcomes highest number of new donors in 30 years

A record 29,171 people joined the NHS Stem Cell Donor Registry during 2025/26, marking its strongest year for recruitment in three decades.

The figures were released by NHS Blood and Transplant at the beginning of Stem Cell Awareness Week. The organisation hopes the growing register will give more people with leukaemia, aplastic anaemia and immune-system disorders the chance of finding a potentially lifesaving match.

Almost 5,000 of last year’s new registrants were from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds, representing a 5% increase on the previous year. However, these communities still account for only 12% of the registry’s more than 400,000 potential donors.

A patient is more likely to find the closest stem cell match from somebody with a similar ethnic background. NHS Blood and Transplant is therefore urging more people from underrepresented communities to come forward, with a target of recruiting another 30,000 donors during 2026/27.

Blood, platelet and plasma donors aged between 17 and 40 can ask to join the registry during a donation appointment. A new home cheek-swab initiative is also being introduced for invited donors and at blood donor recruitment events.

Most stem cell donations are collected from the bloodstream using equipment that filters out the required cells and returns the remaining blood to the donor. Around one in ten donations involves collecting cells directly from the bone marrow.

Stay informed with the stories shaping health and social care.