HUMAN TISSUE AND ORGAN RESOURCE FOR RESEARCH

National Disease Research Interchange, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The broad long term objective of this proposal is to maintain the operation of a critical resource for the biomedical research community by collecting, preserving, and delivering usable human tissues and organs to basic scientists and clinical investigators for their research in both fundamental and directed areas of research. To this end, the specific aims of the HTOR program are as follows: (1) To continue to provide quality controlled and documented human tissues and organs, collected and processed by appropriately trained personnel, for delivery to researchers for their use in biomedical experiments, the HTOR personnel will maintain current knowledge of the constraints placed on the tissue procurement process by the researcher and will educate Tissue Acquisition Center personnel about tissue retrieval and processing procedures. To complement its ongoing programs for assessing tissue quality and usability, the HTOR resource will institute a morphology-based quality control program to assess tissue integrity and viability. The data generated will be analyzed by the HTOR staff and the consulting pathologist and forwarded quarterly to the Quality Control Subcommittee of the Steering Committee for its review. (2) to refine the tissue acquisition network to provide investigators with needed access to more diverse sources and types of human tissue for their research needs in multiple areas of investigation, the HTOR program will increase productivity from existing Tissue Acquisition Centers, recruit new ones, and develop new and existing Remote Tissue Acquisition Centers. (3) TO inform investigators whose research programs would benefit from and be accelerated by access to human tissues and organs from this resource, HTOR will publish notices in professional journals, attend professional meetings, and develop mailing lists for targeted mailings. (4) To maintain the existing computerized databases on donors, researchers, tissues, and organs collected and delivered and to extend these databases to include information on Tissues Acquisition Centers and quality control data, information currently kept on forms will be added to the databases. This will permit the program to document the processes and outcomes of tissue procurement. By these methods, the HTOR program will provide quality controlled and documented human tissues and organs to scientists for basic and clinical studies in genetics, molecular biology, physiology and pathophysiology as they relate to human health and disease.