London based charity, the Anthony Nolan Trust, is one of the World's leading peripheral blood stem cell and bone marrow registries. Its database of volunteers is searched by healthcare professionals the world over to find compatible donors for patients in need of potentially life saving transplants.
The History of the Anthony Nolan Trust
Born in 1971, Anthony Nolan was the son of Shirley Nolan and was diagnosed with Wiscott Aldrich Syndrome, a rare inherited immunological disorder. Two years later the world's first unrelated bone marrow transplant was performed, previously only relatives of the patient were used as donors. Its success became the template for Shirley Nolan's vision of an unrelated registry of volunteer bone marrow donors.
In 1974 Shirley Nolan established the Anthony Nolan Register. With limited funds and personnel, growth was slow but assistance from The Round Tables of Great Britain and Ireland helped provide the register with a more secure financial and numerical base.
Sadly, in 1979 Anthony died without a matching donor having been found.
By the late 1980s over 100,000 volunteer donors were registered with the Anthony Nolan Trust. 1990 saw the Trust relocate from their long time home at St Mary Abbots Hospital in Westminster to the grounds of The Royal Free Hospital in North London.
Throughout the 1990s the Trust grew in numbers and prominence and by the end of the decade the 2000th donor had been provided for transplant and the registry could boast over 300,000 donors.
Growth has continued from the year 2000 to the present day. The research arm of the Anthony Nolan Trust has become a renowned and respected resource for the scientific community. The provision of donors continues to increase with over 500 annually donating to critically ill patients and the number of volunteers on the register upward of 400,000.
Shirley Nolan
In 2000, whilst living in Australia, Shirley Nolan received an OBE in the new Millennium Honours list. Her response to the accolade reflected her humility.
"I particularly accept it for Anthony. My greatest reward has been to know my little boy did not die in vain. Because of Anthony others have lived and his legacy remains. We can all do something to help save lives. I just did what any Mother would do - my best."
Sadly, on 14 July 2002 Shirley Nolan died in Australia aged 60 and a memorial service was held at St Paul's Cathedral in London to commemorate the life of a remarkable woman.
The Anthony Nolan Trust
From its humble beginnings in 1974 to the current day, the Anthony Nolan Trust has proved an outstanding success story. The foresight and altruism of a Mother in search of a cure for her child has led to an ongoing legacy of hope for desperately ill patients and their families.
More information on how to become a peripheral blood stem cell or bone marrow donor can be found by contacting the Anthony Nolan Trust.
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References
The Anthony Nolan Trust
