The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has announced awards, which total £12.1 million, to fund Blood and Transplant Research Units (BTRUs). Each BTRU is a partnership between a university and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).
The awards will fund research into three priority areas, which include donor health and genomics. Donor health is a new area of research for NHSBT. It will address major questions about the health of blood donors and produce evidence-based strategies to enhance donor safety.
A NHSBT programme of research in organ donation and transplantation will focus on understanding how to improve the quality of organs prior to donation. Finally, aprogramme of research in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and related therapies will focus on the development of more appropriate, efficient and cost-effective treatment of haematopoeitic stem cell transplant patients.
