Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve awareness of stem cell donation among 16 and 17 year olds.

NHS Blood and Transport (NHSBT) manages the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR), the NHS Cord Blood Bank (NHS CBB) and provides specialist services related to the provision of stem cells which can turn into blood cells for the treatment of blood cancers and is responsible for raising awareness of these issues.

NHSBT recruits stem cell donors to the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR) exclusively from the pool of active blood donors (aged 17 years and above), however those wishing to join at age 16, can do so through The Anthony Nolan Trust.

All registered stem cell donors are in the United Kingdom's aligned register. Anthony Nolan manages this single UK bone marrow register, which is known as the 'Anthony Nolan & NHS Stem Cell Registry', and is aligned with the NHS British Bone Marrow Registry and the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

NHSBT has programmes in place to support education about donation and transplantation for children and young adults including Give and Let Live, a national education programme aimed at promoting awareness of bone marrow, blood, tissue, cord blood and organ donation amongst 14-16 year old pupils.