Moral concerns and the willingness to donate to a research biobank (Jun-16)

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Imagine you just had a medical test or treatment. You are asked to donate your leftover tissue to a biobank.

Biobanks store donated samples, like blood, urine, skin, or tumor cells. Researchers can ask the biobank if they can use some of the samples to do their studies.  These samples may help researchers to find better ways of preventing or treating disease.

You are asked to sign a “blanket consent” form. This means that the biobank can use your sample in any study done by researchers who use the biobank.

The biobank cannot predict what kind of studies will be done in the future.  However, a committee must review each study to make sure the study is well designed, protects your privacy, and will help society.