The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre has launched a set of Transparency Principles. The Principles outline how transparency can be sustained throughout the research life cycle, ensuring biobanks and donors know who is using their samples.
The German Biobank Node (GBN), which is part of BBMRI-ERIC, asked more than 330 “potential biobank users” at university hospitals about their attitudes towards collaborating with biobanks. Here, Dr. Cornelia Specht, managing director of the GBN, tells us about the survey results and conclusions.
In this post we hear from John Meredith, Head of Education and Outreach at Understanding Animal Research to find out more about human samples and animal research.
The national data opt-out In order to make the samples you donate really useful for research, Biobanks need to link them to data about you. Recently there has been changes to the control you have over this data. We talk to Alison Stone and Chris Carrigan from the patient movement use MY data to find out more about the national data opt-out… What is the national data opt-out? The national… Read More »The national data opt-out
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Today, samples donated for medical research are anonymised so that any work performed on them cannot be traced back to the donor. But donation for research has not always worked like this. In 1951, tumour cells from a patient in the USA were grown and sent all over the world, later to be traced back to her and her family. We discuss the implications… Read More »The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
Cost recovery in Biobanking When patients donate samples for research they do so with goodwill as a gift to research. So why is there sometimes reference to ‘the cost of samples?’ We explain more about the use of Cost recovery in Biobanking in our latest blog. How can tissue cost money when it is donated for free? The process of getting access to a hospital, surgeon, pathologist, clinical data and… Read More »Cost recovery in Biobanking
It is difficult to generalise what to expect when you donate your tissue to a biobank, as each biobank will operate in a slightly different manner. So this has been intended as a guide describing some of the key points during the various stages of biobanking to give you an idea what is likely to happen. When will I be approached? A biobank may contact you at anytime but the… Read More »What to expect when donating samples
What are samples? A sample can take many forms. It can be a piece of human tissue taken from a healthy or a diseased part of the body, but it can also be a sample of bodily fluid such as blood, urine or saliva. The reason samples are taken is to allow researchers to perform tests on ‘real’ material to gain greater understanding of what is happening in the patient.… Read More »Introduction to biobanking
Cadaveric Tissue for Research It is well known that tissue donation from the living is vitally important to research and is normally in the form of small samples from “surplus to diagnostic” material or tumour biopsy. While this process allows many types of research to be undertaken, the research undertaken can be limited and so it is also necessary to conduct research on tissue donated from people after their death.… Read More »Tissue Donation After Death for Research
