Frequently asked questions

The biorepository is a collection of biological samples (saliva, blood, tissue) removed during surgeries. The samples are stored securely, catalogued and tracked.

Only authorised researchers can access them, and only if we are confident that the researchers will use them responsibly and ethically.  Patients consent to donate their tissue to be used in research.

The Norwich Research Park Biorepository has been established only for health-related research that is in the public interest. Any attempts to use it for other purposes are declined. So, for example, insurance companies and employers are not be allowed to access the resource.

Our aim is to encourage the widest possible use of the NRP Biorepository to help develop improvements in the treatment and prevention of many different diseases. For this reason, information provided to participants before they consented to take part explained that bona fide researchers in the pharmaceutical industry and other commercial organisations would be able to use the biorepository for health-related research that is in the public interest.

Industry/commercial enquiries relating to NRP Biorepository samples should be sent to: biorepository@nnuh.nhs.uk 

Each sample that is donated is given a unique number, so that researchers cannot identify you. This protects your identity whilst giving the researchers the data they need to get the most from their studies using your samples.

Using anonymised data allows us to share that data with colleagues who are doing excellent research, to get really important details and to get more out of the original research and that has a positive benefit directly for patients.

The only time the researchers might need to identify a sample is if they discover something of clinical significance in a particular sample. If this happens they will contact the Norwich Research Park Biorepository with the sample's unique identifier. The Biorepository team will then access the database and alert the relevant clinical care team.

Your data is kept on a secure database behind the NHS firewall at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH). Access to this database is highly restricted. Researchers cannot access this data or get any identifiable information.

Anthony Lundrigan is Chief Information Officer for both the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Norwich Research Park Biorepository.

His job to ensure that the data is kept securely and complies with the highest standards for data security. We will only use your data for your care and, with your consent, for research

It is your data, and you always have the right to know what data we hold, and for what purposes we are holding it. You have the right to remove that data at any time.

A Caldicott Guardian also oversees how we handle your data and samples. They represent you and other patients. All NHS organisations must have a Caldicott Guardian and in this senior role they ensure seven key principles apply to the handling of patient data.

• Professor Louise Jones is a research scientist and a pathologist and she combines these dual roles in her work with the Norwich Research Park Biorepository.  
• Dr Rachael Stanley is the Biorepository Manager responsible for the day-to-day running of the resource.
• Roxy Brunton-Sim is the Research Project Manager for the Biorepository.
• TBC is the Biorepository Tissue Collector.

The Norwich Research Park Biorepository is run by an NHS team from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and has also received capital funding from the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

You are free to withdraw your consent to donating a sample or samples at any time. Please discuss any concerns you might have with us and we can outline the various options you have for withdrawal. Please contact the team on biorepository@nnuh.nhs.uk