Tissue Donation for Scientific Research
Scientists need blood, cells and tissues to carry out research to find out more about diseases and how they can be treated. Using human tissue in research reduces the need for animal tissue and provides more clinically relevant information to scientists.
By joining our donor database and donating a sample you could help to progress research in a number of disease areas, help in the development of new treatments and ultimately even a cure.
Our research tissue bank is fully approved by an NHS Research Ethics Committee and our processes are fully aligned to the relevant regulatory bodies. All samples are collected by appropriately trained and qualified health care professionals ensuring your donation is as comfortable as possible so you can donate knowing both you and your samples will be treated with respect.
Samples you might like to donate come in many forms, including:
- A tube of blood
- Urine
- Faeces
- Hair
- Saliva
- Small skin biopsy samples
Samples are collected by fully trained and qualified health care professionals at appropriate sites, or you may be able to collect the samples at home yourself in containers provided. Before agreeing to donate your sample you will have the opportunity to discuss the collection and ask any questions you may have. You will be provided with an information sheet that details the required sample collection process, any aftercare or repeat visits if required and details of relevant inconvenience payments.
You do not have to take part in any donation you choose not to. Being on our database means we can contact you about potential donations we think may be suitable for you and if you like, we can provide further information so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not to take part.
If you decide not to take part, no problem, it will not affect the chances of you being asked to take part in any future studies, we will continue to contact you for any donations we think might be suitable.
If you do decide to take part you will be invited to an appointment where we will ensure you are suitable for the donation and you will be asked to sign a form consenting to the collection.
You can request to have your details removed from our database at any time, this would mean we no longer held your contact details or any other information about you.
Donating your tissue or fluids for use in research will greatly assist scientists who are trying to find out more about diseases and how to treat them. Your samples could help to improve current treatments and develop new treatments to treat or even cure some diseases.
Your donation of human tissue can also help to reduce the number of animals used in research.
To compensate you for your time and travel expenses you will receive an inconvenience payment, the amount will depend on what type of sample you donate. Payments will be made directly into your specified bank account.
No, once the sample has been taken it will be allocated a unique code. This code will be provided to the researchers along with some basic information about you (age, sex, ethnicity), health (or disease) status and any current medications. The information will not include your name, DOB, address or any other information which could allow the researchers to identify you.
As long as you are aged 16 or over you can join our database. Depending on the study, we may need to collect from donors who have specific diseases or from healthy donors who have no disease. We will contact you regarding any possible donation we think you may be suitable for based on the information you provide us.
Some of the types of samples needed include:
Blood (from a finger prick, vein or menstrual blood), skin biopsies, urine, faeces, saliva, mouth swabs, hair and tears.
The information you supply to us will be held on our secure database, your information will not be provided to any third parties and you can request your data to be removed at any time. Your data is held in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679.