Revamping Stem Cell Donor Management Systems: Anthony Nolan's Cloud-Based Solution
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Cement
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Personnel Tracking & Monitoring
- Tamper Detection
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Anthony Nolan is a UK-based nonprofit organization that collaborates with other stem cell donor registers worldwide to match people with blood cancer with donors whose stem cells can save lives. The organization was founded by Shirley Nolan in honor of her son and matches patients with volunteers willing to donate stem cells. Anthony Nolan also leads research into stem cell transplantation, advocates for blood cancer patients and their families, helps patients navigate treatment, and expands its stem cell register so more people can access critical transplants. The organization operates on the philosophy of 'continuous improvement on all our technology platforms'.
The Challenge
Anthony Nolan, a UK-based nonprofit, collaborates with other stem cell donor registers worldwide to match people with blood cancer with donors whose stem cells can save lives. The organization was facing challenges with its legacy technology. Information about potential donors and recipients was kept on a different system than that of volunteers, financial supporters, and others. This lack of a single view made it difficult for the transplant, marketing, and fundraising teams to find the details to cultivate the most meaningful relationships possible. The nonprofit also used a 22-year-old, email-based system to communicate with more than 100 other registries around the world. This legacy platform was inefficient and resulted in hundreds of failed messages a day, which someone had to check and process. This took valuable hours in a time-sensitive matching process.
The Solution
Anthony Nolan partnered with Formus Pro to revamp its stem cell donor management systems. Formus Pro built an Azure link to connect the separate systems, creating a 'single supporter view'. This allowed users to see the relevant information stored in the other system without switching back and forth between platforms. The databases sync in real time and prevent duplicate entries for people involved in multiple areas of the nonprofit’s work. Formus Pro also built two layers of permissions to ensure staff see only the information they need to do their job. To find donor matches more efficiently, Formus Pro built an Azure link that layered on top of the decades-old email-based system called EMDIS. This layer uses custom APIs to more securely analyze, process, and sort messages into queues. An Azure function processes these messages hourly, including Anthony Nolan’s own requests for potential matches. This automation and bypassing the previous mistake-prone process saved time and hassle.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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