Today (22nd January 2020) Medicines Discovery Catapult, alongside Incisive Health and use MY data published ‘The Issue with Tissue’, a report that brings together key figures from across the patient, clinical and research community to consider how more tissue samples could be used, more effectively.
About 1 million patients have consented to their samples being used specifically in research studies. There are a further 3 to 5 million samples held in tissue banks in the UK, where patients have permitted their sample to be used in future studies. However, it has been estimated that only 15% of samples donated for research are ever used. Researchers and innovators have reported difficulties in identifying and accessing tissue samples at every stage of the release pathway.
Patient Advocate, use MY data, says:
“There is a responsibility for those holding information to do something with it, because nobody wants to give their data, or their samples, and then nothing happen with it”
The ‘Issue with Tissue’ sets out a ten-point action plan to address the issue with tissue. Recommendations are made at each step of the tissue sample pathway, but common themes run throughout: the release and use of human tissue samples must be underpinned by transparency, collaboration and voluntary action.
A key takeaway of the report is the significant role that patients play in enabling research, and ultimately facilitating the discovery of new treatments, through donating their tissue.
To read the ‘Issue with Tissue’ report please visit: md.catapult.org.uk/resources/the-issue-with-tissue/
