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Scott Jewell, PhD, is leading the way to help build a robust tissue bank at OSU Medical Center.
Learn more about the Human Tissue Resource Network.
The National Cancer Institute answers questions about tissue donation.
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Human tissue banks may seem straight from science fiction, but they are the key to many successful medical research innovations. Ohio State’s Medical Center and the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) are home to one of the largest cancer-related biospecimen banks in the nation.
Biospecimens include tumor tissue, plasma, blood and urine. With a patient’s consent, the tissue bank obtains these specimens through typical patient medical tests and procedures, such as blood draws and biopsies. Researchers use the materials donated to tissue banks in their studies to help prevent and treat a variety of diseases.
To keep tissue banks robust, the OSUCCC will soon begin asking all cancer patients to consider depositing their leftover tissue into the biospecimen banks. While donation is entirely voluntary, medical researchers hope that patients will recognize the benefits of donating to a tissue bank.
“Not all of the tissue removed in a surgery is needed for the pathologists’ diagnoses. If not donated to the tissue bank, this material would be destroyed,” explains Scott Jewell, PhD, associate director of OSUCCC’s Biorepository and Biospecimen Shared Resource and director of the Human Tissue Resource Network for the Department of Pathology. “We are asking patients for their permission to use this material for future research. There are no additional risks to the patient, and we protect their identity.”
“These tissue banks are critical to every investigator who is doing cancer research,” says Charles Shapiro, MD, director of breast medical oncology and director of The Survivorship Center of Excellence at Ohio State. “Having a large collection of tissue from patients is a way we can get science done in an efficient manner.”
“Most research breakthrough involves the collection and utilization of biospecimens,” says Dr. Jewell. “We want to provide the best opportunities for research so we can provide the best options in treatment and care for our patients.”
Waverly, Ohio, resident Mary Jayne Lilly has donated her tissue for research and says, “I personally see no hesitation in participating in research. It’s for the betterment of everybody else.”
Dr. Jewell notes that each investigator typically only needs a small amount of tissue, allowing biospecimens to be used by many researchers. “A tissue sample as small as a grain of rice can actually yield enough material for a researcher,” says Dr. Jewell.
“It is a powerful tool,” says Dr. Shapiro, referring to the OSUCCC biospecimen bank. “We are talking about an institutional effort to capture tissue that will be useful in the future for all cancer research.”
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