International Volunteer Day 2025: Stuart's Story

December 5th marks International Volunteer Day, an opportunity for everyone to express gratitude for the time and dedication shown by thousands of volunteers every day in supporting their communities. 

As part of our celebrations, we have an interview with one of our Team London Ambassadors, Stuart Asher, who is discussing some of the lifesaving volunteering he does outside of the Team London Volunteering programme. We were excited to find out more and share this impactful look at volunteering with you! 

In terms of your volunteer work transporting bone marrow and stem cells for cancer patients, what organisation do you volunteer with? How and when did you first get involved with them? 

The organisation which I volunteer for is Anthony Nolan, a charity which helps patients affected by blood cancers like leukaemia and blood disorders like aplastic anaemia through stem cell transplants. Anthony Nolan was established in 1974 and is the world’s first stem cell register. Over 50 years on, Anthony Nolan opened its new cell collection centre in Nottingham this year so that more people can donate their stem cells both to patients in need, and for lifesaving research.  

Everyone at Anthony Nolan works hard to encourage more people to sign up to the stem cell register and become a potentially lifesaving donor. The charity needs more young men and more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to sign up, because young men are most often called upon to donate, and people with mixed heritage are more likely to have unique tissue type so it can be harder for them to find a match on the register.  

Anthony Nolan is part of an aligned UK registry and there are worldwide registries that share information and match those in need of a transplant. That’s where the volunteer couriers come in to bring the stem cells from donor to patient as quickly as possible. It looks after them before and after the treatment. Since its inception it has helped many thousands of patients from the youngest to the elderly. Its head office is near the Royal Free Hospital. 

I started being a courier with them over 8 years ago, and in that time, I have done over 100 trips. 

A list of the trips for the next 8 weeks is provided every Tuesday and Friday with well over 25 trips each time. Around 75% are abroad and as far afield as South Africa and Australia.  I select which trip dates I am free for, but as there are over 100 volunteers, one doesn’t always get the trips one volunteered for. 

Could you take us through what a typical 'run' would be like? 

I have just returned from Krakow, delivering to an NHS hospital in Glasgow, and I will tell you my journey. There is limited preparation at home for the trip beforehand. We keep the temperature-controlled box at home. When used, it needs 6 icepacks which are kept in the freezer until the day of travel. The box is wiped before use. 

The documents, including flight details, hotel accommodation, who to contact, and where to collect and deliver, are sent between 3 days and a week before travel by Anthony Nolan. As you can imagine there is paperwork to be signed by the courier, the donating hospital, and the receiving hospital at each of the places. 

On this occasion, I had to take 2 flights to Krakow as there were no direct flights. The box cannot be put through the x-ray machine at security so one has to wait for a manager to take the box through. 

I eventually arrived at Krakow airport in the early afternoon and made my way to the hotel by public transport. I phoned the collection centre and was told I could collect the stem cells and tubes at 8am the next morning (7am British time). The rest of the day was free. 

The next morning, I took the tram to the collection hospital to be there for 8am and collected the stem cells to put them in the temperature-controlled box and set off again by public transport to the airport. 

I again had to take 2 planes via Amsterdam to Glasgow airport. Both planes were delayed and I arrived in Glasgow at 6pm local time. I took a taxi to the receiving centre and delivered the stem cells and took the taxi back to the airport ready for my flight back to London. 

I arrived home just after 11pm.  

The next day, I sent the paperwork and temperature-controlled gismo back to Anthony Nolan and started preparing the expenses to be claimed which again will be sent to Anthony Nolan for reimbursement.  

Do you ever get to find out what happens to patients after you make a delivery? 

The patient and donor, for confidentiality purposes, are not known to us. I do know that the patient and donor do not contact each other for 2 years, and only then if they want to. 

Is there anything you find particularly challenging about this volunteer work, and if so, what motivates you to keep coming back? 

Obviously, the travelling, running for planes and trains, and finding my way around foreign cities.  

However, helping to save people's lives is very rewarding especially when I went to Great Ormand Street Hospital while trying to save the life of a 3-year-old. 

Could you please let us know about the other volunteer roles you participate in? 

I am involved in a lot of volunteering and will list them below. 

• Anthony Noland as listed above. 
• A magistrate coming to the end of my tenure as I will be 75 next year. I've been a magistrate in Brent for over 20 years. 
• As a Mental Health ACT Manager, I sit on panels as a volunteer to decide whether those who have been sectioned and are normally in mental health institutions should come off the section and be released. 
• I’ve just joined a charitable organisation in Henden which helps people with needs like a Citizen’s Advice Bureau. My role will be to help where needed on financial aspects as I am a qualified accountant, court proceedings, and mental health problems. 
• I’m a trustee and volunteer for a UK charity which raises funds for medical equipment for an overseas children’s hospital. 
• I have just finished volunteering for a local authority where I sit on a panel deciding whether a child should be accepted into a school where they have been refused due to lack of space when applying to change or start school.  

What does volunteering mean to you? 

Giving back to society where I can and helping people in difficulty who are less fortunate than me. 

 What do you think London would be like without volunteers? 

Without volunteers London would come to a halt. So many people are not recognised for the hours and help they put in. 

The Anthony Nolan charity was founded by Shirley Nolan and named after her son, who had passed away while waiting for a bone marrow transplant. There are several ways to get involved with this charity and make a difference. 

They offer a range of volunteering opportunities, including event volunteering at marathons.  You can also get involved more broadly through their Help Save a Life page, where you can find information on joining the stem cell register. 

We’d like to thank Stuart for taking the time to answer our questions, especially after arriving fresh from Glasgow, and for sharing his experiences volunteering with Anthony Nolan. 

If you'd like to share your experiences with volunteering and be featured in a future blog post, please contact us at [email protected].