Why donate to a biorepository?

Why donate to a biorepository?

We know that a diagnosis of a serious disease is the most terrible thing that can happen. But for people like Adrienne Morgan, being able to donate tissue as part of your treatment can be a positive to come from an awful situation.

Adrienne is a scientist, who loves working in the lab, but breast cancer has prevented her working full time.

She was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer in 2005 that had spread to her lymph nodes. Following her surgery, she was pleased to be able to donate her lymph tissue to support research. But this was coupled with disappointment her breast tissue couldn’t also be used to help beat the disease as at the time the Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank hadn’t been established.

Since opening, the Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank has collected over 50,000 samples from over 12,000 patients, providing an invaluable resource for researchers across the country to better understand breast cancer and find new more effective treatments.

This research relies on access to tissue samples, which what we at the Norwich Research Park Biorepository, like our colleagues at the Breast Cancer Now Tissue Bank are dedicated to providing.

But this relies on you, and people like you, consenting to providing tissue samples.

“We don’t have to do anything more than say yes, and say yes to this tissue being used for something really positive.” –  Adrienne Morgan