World-first study set to identify stem cell super donors

Scientists in the UK have launched a world-first study to identify people who could be stem cell super donors.

As part of the study, researchers will analyse DNA samples from up to 5,000 past donors to find out which genes influence how many stem cells people are able to donate.

The GeSTy study has been funded by NHS Blood and Transplant and will look for signs of genes associated with higher stem-cell yields.

Stem cells can develop into many different types of cells in the body. This means they can be used in treatments for a wide range of conditions, from bone marrow transplants to replacing cells damaged by chemotherapy.

However, more than 400 UK patients each year cannot have these potentially life-saving treatments because they lack a suitable donor, according to NHS Blood and Transplant.

Around 40 per cent of donors do not give a high enough stem cell yield on the first donation, the health authority said.

Scientists are hoping key information may lie in the samples held by the NHS Blood and Transplant registry and the Anthony Nolan registry of past donors.

“NHS Blood and Transplant is carrying out this study because there can be big stem yield variations between fairly identical people,” Dr Rachel Peck, clinical research fellow at NHSBT – one of the study leads, said. “We think genes are likely to play a big part in that.

“There are around seven to eight genes we suspect play a part but the study will be ‘gene agnostic’. We’ll see if there are effects from genes we have not studied before.

“It’s likely to be your combination of genes rather than one or two which make the difference and the more stem cells you can give, the more likely the transplant will be a success.”

Francis Judd, 26, is a donor whose sample from last June contained the third highest number of stem cells of any donor through NHSBT during 2023.

At 1.1 billion stem cells, his donation was around twice as many stem cells than the average donor to NHSBT that year and around 20 times more than the smallest stem cell donation, NHSBT said.

“It was the third time I’d been called as a potential match and the way I thought about it, it would be of negligible impact on me but someone else really needs it, so why not do it,” Mr Judd, a software engineer living in Clapham, said. “It was a cool thing to do.

“I am glad I was able to donate a lot of stem cells for whoever needed them. It does sound like a beneficial study because the people who receive stem cells are very vulnerable and need to have good treatment.”

Results from the study are expected in 2027.