Archive · 15 Sep 2026
UK Nurse Agimol Pradeep Wins Global Award for Donation Advocacy
Agimol Pradeep is a nurse in the UK who helps people learn about organ and stem-cell donation.
She noticed that some South Asian patients had difficulty finding suitable transplant donors.
She found that many people were not refusing to donate but simply did not have enough information.
Some people worried about myths, religion, medical treatment or organ trafficking.
In 2012, she helped start a project called Upahaar to discuss these concerns.
The project has helped register more than 10,000 stem-cell donors.
Pradeep won a major global nursing award from a field of 134,000 registrations.
She will use the prize money to expand the project and help educate future nurses.
Agimol Pradeep won the 2026 Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award and a $250,000 prize.
The UK-based nurse was selected from 134,000 registrations across 214 countries and economies.
Her Upahaar initiative has registered more than 10,000 South Asian stem-cell donors since 2012.
Pradeep says misinformation, myths and religious concerns contribute to low donation registration among South Asian communities.
She plans to use half the prize to expand Upahaar and the remainder to support nursing education.
- Who
- Agimol Pradeep, a UK-based senior transplant coordinator and nurse.
- What
- She won the 2026 Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award for work addressing low organ and stem-cell donation rates among South Asian communities.
- When
- The award was announced in 2026; the ceremony took place on Saturday.
- Where
- The ceremony was held in Kochi, and Pradeep's work is based partly at King's College Hospital in the UK.
- Why
- She was recognized for launching and expanding donation-awareness work, including Upahaar, and for contributions to nursing workforce policy.
- Award
- Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2026
- Prize
- $250,000
- Selection field
- 134,000 registrations from 214 countries and economies
- Initiative
- Upahaar, launched in 2012 to promote organ and stem-cell donation among South Asian communities
- Donors registered
- More than 10,000 South Asian stem-cell donors
- Prize allocation
- Half will expand Upahaar; the remainder will fund nursing education
- Other recognition
- Pradeep received the British Empire Medal for work including support for internationally trained nurses returning to the UK workforce