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Biosamples for research

Ethical Tissue considers requests for any type of tissue including biofluids such as blood, plasma serum and urine from researchers in academia, the NHS, pharmaceutical companies, or biotech companies.

The exterior of the Institute for Cancer Therapeutics building.

Our biosamples

Ethical Tissue procures a wide variety of tissues through a range of ethically approved consent types:

  • Surplus at therapeutic intervention
  • Additional at therapeutic intervention
  • Healthy volunteers
  • Recently deceased
  • Paediatric surplus at therapeutic intervention

Tissues can be accessed in a number of formats:

Thank you very much for your help with my skin project! The communication has been great and all specimens were very well packed and clearly labelled

Academic Researcher, Manchester

Request biosamples

We have a well-established procedure for managing requests for biosamples.
To request tissue or discuss your biosample needs, you can contact us in one of the following ways.

Complete our online form Call +44 (0)1274 235818 Email [email protected]

Additional information

  1. Contact Ethical Tissue to discuss your requirements. Ethical Tissue will let you know if this is something we can do and give you an idea of time frame and costs
  2. Ethical Tissue will send a copy of the application form to the researcher along with a MTA. This can be sent electronically or as a hard copy.
  3. Researcher completes the application form and returns to Ethical Tissue
  4. Researcher completes the application form and returns to Ethical Tissue. Application form will be reviewed for missing information by the Tissue Bank Team
  5. Application is sent out for independent review
  6. Decision – This process normally takes 3-4 weeks unless additional information is requested by reviewers
  7. Samples and data (if required) released once a MTA is in place

Ethical Tissue operates on a cost recovery, not-for-profit basis and so a charge is made for the acquisition, processing, and supply of material.

We charge a fee for the supply of samples and/or data to contribute towards the costs incurred in collecting and maintaining the biobank.

If the samples require courier transportation, we are happy to arrange this using one of our approved couriers and will invoice the recipient for the costs incurred. Alternatively, if the researchers laboratory has an account with a suitable courier they can organise the transfer on the account providing all details have been confirmed with Ethical Tissue.

Researchers must acknowledge Ethical Tissue as the supplier of the sample on any article, paper, poster, etc. generated from research carried out on samples supplied please state , "Biosamples were obtained from Ethical Tissue (DOI:http://doi.org/10.5334/ojb.50)" and link to the Ethical Tissue Bioresource paper.

Tissue data is collected, stored and supplied by Ethical Tissue in accordance with:

All samples are anonymously coded and personal data is protected and stored securely. A minimal dataset is supplied with all tissue samples which may include age, gender, ethnicity, and medical history. Standard clinical information is collected routinely. Additional information can be collected upon request.

Our samples are logged onto a central database to ensure traceability of all samples using the unique code assigned to each donation.