Introduction

Anthony Nolan, a UK-based charity focused on leukaemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, manages the recruitment of donors and the operation of a cord blood bank. To meet the rigorous standards of multiple regulatory bodies, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Human Tissue Authority (HTA) and Netcord-FACT, Anthony Nolan needed a reliable and comprehensive quality management system (QMS).

The challenge

Anthony Nolan faced several challenges with their quality management processes: 

• Managing quality documentation across two separate systems led to inefficiencies and increased risk
• The absence of a formal document acknowledgment process hindered their ability to track and verify compliance
• Preparing for multiple annual regulatory inspections required significant time and resources

Finding the right solution

To address these challenges, Anthony Nolan selected Ideagen as their unified quality management solution: 

• Consolidated all quality management processes into a single, stand-alone system, reducing risk and improving efficiency
• Enabled accurate and timely document control, including donor and parent information and clinical data related to donor quality
• Streamlined the preparation process for regulatory inspections, allowing for faster and more efficient audits

Implementation and impact

Implementing Ideagen Quality Management brought about significant improvements for Anthony Nolan: 

• Achieved faster document approvals, ensuring that only up-to-date and accurate information is used
• Reduced the time required for regulatory inspections by providing auditors with direct access to Q-Pulse, improving overall efficiency
• Established a single source of truth for all documentation, reducing the risk of non-compliance and enhancing the organization’s operational capabilities