(2) what proportion of people who were on the Blood Donor Register were also on the Bone Marrow Donor Register on the latest date for which figures are available;
(3) how many registered stem cell donors there were in each year since registration began;
(4) what proportion of bone marrow donors were resident in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland in each of the last 12 years.
The British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR) is run by the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Bone marrow donors are recruited from the existing pool of blood donors.
Therefore, the promotion of bone marrow donation is carried out in conjunction with blood donor promotion campaigns. Examples include the NHSBT website, The Donor magazine, which is sent to 1.4 million donors, and promotional material at blood collection sessions. It is not possible, therefore, to provide an exact figure for the amount spent on advertising exclusively for the recruitment of bone marrow donors.
Not all of those currently on the British Bone Marrow Register will still be active blood donors, although at the time of joining the BBMR all would have been registered as blood donors. As of September 2009, the estimated figures supplied by NHSBT for bone marrow donors on the blood donor register were:
Region Number Percentage Midlands and South West 93,369 30 Northern 101,548 33 London and South East 92,712 30 Northern Ireland 9,060 3 Scotland 13,823 4.5 Note: Numbers in Wales are not held.
The number of donors on the BBMR for the years 2001-02 to 2008-09 are listed as follows. The totals do not represent the availability of donors as this can fluctuate for many different reasons. We do not have figures for the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
Total 2001-02 149,500 2002-03 154,500 2003-04 176,500 2004-05 210,500 2005-06 250,500 2006-07 267,100 2007-08 283,700 2008-09 292,100
In addition to the British Bone Marrow Register, stem cell donations are also sourced from the NHS Cord Blood Bank, which at present has around 13,000 stored umbilical cord blood units.
The British Bone Marrow Registry recruits donors from the blood donor population. The tissue type of a donor is identified through tests carried out on samples collected during blood donation, which is believed to be a more stable medium than DNA swabs. As there is currently no requirement for additional tests such as DNA swabs to be carried out, no such assessment has been made.