UK opens new ethical tissue bank

Research lead

Bradford University has opened a new tissue bank to provide biomedical researchers in the UK with access to a wide range of ethically-sourced human tissue and tissue products.

The tissue bank has its foundations in a tumour bank based within the university’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, supplying supplied specimen local researchers. In 2007 the group running the bank decided to expand in response to increasing demands for access to a wider range tissues.

The bank has been granted a licence by the recently formed Human Tissue Authority and becomes one of the first university-based ethically approved research tissue banks.

The bank, called Ethical Tissue, will operate on a not-for-profit basis, providing access to a wide range of human tissue and products such as viable cells, cell fractions and arrays. Sandie Martin, Head of Ethical Tissue, said, “Our ability to provide researchers directly with ethical approval will ensure a very efficient process that enables them to receive human tissue in a significantly reduced time frame. Gaining ethical approval status has given us increased opportunities to operate in the areas of tissue procurement, transport, processing and storage.”