BioRepository: Help Us Advance Medical Research, Locally

It's a "bank" that stores tissue or blood samples, called biospecimens, that can be used to help researchers discover new treatments for cancer and other medical conditions. The ProMedica BioRepository is located on the ProMedica Toledo Hospital campus and it's your local answer to helping others and furthering medicine.

You have the ability to easily donate your tissues and blood samples if you're undergoing a procedure. At your scheduled pre-op appointment, you may request the blood samples taken during your procedure be donated to our ProMedica BioRepository. As for tissue donation, your doctor removes a certain amount of tissue needed for your diagnosis or treatment during your procedure. But sometimes, there's extra tissue. In most situations, this tissue is destroyed. Instead of destroying what's left over, you may choose to have it donated to the ProMedica BioRepository.

For blood samples, you'll be asked for permission for an additional four to six teaspoons to store in the BioRepository. It's done at the same time as your scheduled blood workup, so no separate appointment is needed.

An ultra low-temperature laboratory freezer preserves your samples for long-term storage. The research on these samples can be used to discover what causes cancer, how to prevent it, and how to treat it. It can also help us learn the causes of and find treatments for other diseases such as:

• Diabetes.
• Alzheimer's disease.
• Heart disease.
• Crohn's disease.

No, your leftover tissue donation will not affect your diagnostic results.

Yes. You don't need to go through any extra procedures or tests. The remaining tissue leftover from your procedure is all that's needed.

No. Identification of all donated samples is replaced with a code, which allows for de-identified tissue donation.

If you're interested, please speak with your doctor. When you come in for pre-admission testing or for a procedure, a ProMedica BioRepository member may speak with you and give you the choice to participate. For further information, please call 419-291-4584.

Learn more about the BioRepository.