Lactalis colleagues have voted to support Anthony Nolan as their Charity of the Year partner for a fourth year! We will be fundraising and volunteering throughout 2024, in memory of our dear colleague Julien Desilles.

Anthony Nolan is the charity saving the lives of people with blood cancer in the UK. Back in 1974, Shirley Nolan set up the world’s first stem cell register in a bid to save her son Anthony’s life, who had been diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. Shirley’s dedication to saving the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders is deeply embedded within the organisation, and despite not finding a match for Anthony, her passion has ultimately ended up saving many more lives.

In the UK, blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer for adults, and sadly, the third biggest cancer killer.

It is also the most common type of cancer in children.

Around 40,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer in the UK each year, and sadly more than 15,000 people every year lose their lives needlessly. 

Every 14 minutes someone in the UK is told that they have blood cancer and, if traditional treatments such as chemotherapy do not work, they are left with only one hope for survival: a stem cell transplant.

This is where Anthony Nolan steps in.  

For those searching for an unrelated stem cell donor, they need stem cells from a healthy person – with the same DNA-matched tissue type – to replace and restore their own damaged cells. A stem cell transplant is often their only chance of survival, and 2,200 people need one from an unrelated donor each year. Anthony Nolan helps those people find those precious matches by searching our register for UK donors and registers across the world.