Published: 5 December 2024

We're pleased to announce that Blood Cancer UK is the winner of the Aisling Burnand Award 2024. 

We had a very competitive set of entries, showcasing strong examples of impactful advocacy.

The UK Blood Cancer Action Plan sets out recommendations for the workforce, diagnosis, care, treatment, trials and data.

The report stood out because it was underpinned by a strong evidence base, and was clearly and accessibly presented. It achieved excellent reach across the whole of the UK (including impressive media coverage, 1000 letters to MPs, and meetings with health ministers in each of the four nations). We also particularly liked the way the plan highlights health inequalities, shining a light on the significant differences in diagnosis, recruitment to trials, and outcomes depending on ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geography. A final highlight was a Haiku poem included in the entry, written by a community representative describing her positive experience of being part of the campaign.

The Aisling Burnand Award was launched in 2023 in honour of our previous CEO, who passed away last year. Aisling left money to AMRC and, as members were always her priority, we wanted to honour her by using this in a way we know she'd approve of - to celebrate our members.

The award will run for five years, each year focusing on a priority area for AMRC. Find out more about the award and previous winners on our Aisling Burnand Award webpage.