Over 300 members of staff at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) have signed up to volunteer with the NIHR BioResource, joining over 250,000 people across the country who have agreed to donate a DNA sample and complete a health and lifestyle questionnaire as part of the national repository.
The Nottingham BioResource Centre is one of 6 new local Centres that joined in December 2022. It is part of the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), hosted by the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and partnered with the University of Nottingham.
The NIHR BioResource, with 18 centres across England, collects data and a biological sample from participants with and without health conditions.
Anthony May, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (pictured above) joined over 300 NUH colleagues in donating to the NIHR BioResource.
Anthony May said:
"Every treatment we give is backed by research. As a leading teaching hospital, we host hundreds of clinical studies, which can help us in providing better care for all our patients.
"More data means that we can understand the healthcare needs of people in Nottinghamshire better than ever, and being part of the national NIHR BioResource means we’re contributing nationally to understanding the causes and pathways of disease."
Joining the NIHR BioResource is open to everyone, with participants donating a blood or saliva sample, completing a health and lifestyle questionnaire, granting us access to medical records and providing their consent. These samples are then stored in a central bank alongside linked clinical and demographic information. Everyone who volunteers contributes to the search for better diagnosis and treatment into a range of common and rare diseases.
Once stored, the donated DNA is available to researchers for relevant studies without them having to seek out samples. This streamlines vital health and care research and helps to develop new treatments for patients faster.
By donating, people may also be able to take part in other research studies, helping to advance new developments through important healthcare research.
Donation sessions for staff at NUH will be continuing for the next few weeks.
Get in touch with the team
You can find out more about the NIHR BioResource Centre - Nottingham.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming an NIHR BioResource volunteer, please visit our website or get in contact on nbr@bioresource.nihr.ac.uk or call 0800 090 2233.
If you are interested in joining and live in the Nottingham area, you can visit one of two local sites. Please get in touch via email:
- joanne.llewellyn@nuh.nhs.uk to join via the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) site
- R&IRapidResponseTeam@nuh.nhs.uk to join via the City Hospital site If you are a researcher, learn more about using the NIHR BioResource to support your work.
You can keep up to date with NIHR BioResource on Twitter and LinkedIn.
This article was first published online on 16th February 2024 by the West Bridgford Wire.
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