Stem cell and immunotherapy services
Supporting transplant and cell therapy programmes across England
The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Stem Cell and Immunotherapy (SCI) laboratories provide specialist cellular therapy services for hospitals and transplant centres across England.
As part of Cellular and Molecular Therapies (CMT), our expert teams support the collection, processing, testing, storage, distribution and clinical use of stem cell and immunotherapy products for patients undergoing transplantation and advanced cellular therapies.
Operating from five specialist laboratories in Barnsley, Birmingham, Bristol, Oxford and Southampton, SCI works in partnership with transplant centres, clinicians, collection services and manufacturers to deliver high-quality, regulatory-compliant cellular therapy products.
Information for hospitals
Visit the NHSBT Hospitals and Science website for stem cell forms, address labels to use for samples, and more information about our stem cell services.
SCI user guide
Detailed information about our services, referral processes, product handling requirements, laboratory operations and contact details can be found in our user guide:
Download the stem cell and immunotherapy services user guide (PDF 545 KB)
What we do
Our services support both autologous and allogeneic transplant programmes and include:
- Processing of haematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) products collected by apheresis, bone marrow and cord blood.
- Product testing, evaluation and quality assessment.
- Cell processing services, including volume reduction, red cell depletion, CD34+ cell selection and alpha-beta T-cell depletion procedures.
- Cryopreservation, storage and inventory management of cellular therapy products.
- Preparation and issue of donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) and other immunotherapy products.
- Directed cord blood collection services.
- Support for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), including licensed CAR-T cell therapies.
- Receipt, storage, handling and issue of commercial and clinical trial cell therapy products for named patients.
- Specialist support for clinical trials involving cellular therapies.
Quality, compliance and patient safety
Patient safety and product quality are at the heart of our services. SCI laboratories are licensed by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), accredited by JACIE against international standards for cellular therapy, and operate under NHSBT's quality management systems.
NHSBT also holds an MHRA Wholesale Distribution Authorisation supporting the receipt, storage and distribution of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, including CAR-T therapies.
Working with healthcare providers
We work closely with transplant centres, haematology teams and healthcare organisations to provide responsive, specialist support throughout the patient pathway. Our services are designed to ensure cellular therapy products are managed safely and efficiently from collection through to issue for clinical use.