Researchers at Mass General Brigham are studying how genes, biomarkers, and other factors affect people’s health and contribute to disease. Before they can begin their research, they may spend years recruiting patients and building up a collection of samples and data. This process can be slow and costly. The Mass General Brigham Biobank’s goal is to dramatically speed up the pace of research by making samples and data from hundreds of thousands of patients readily available to researchers. We ask patients to provide their consent to join the Biobank in many clinics across Mass General Brigham and electronically via Patient Gateway. We collect their blood samples at the time or consent or later, when they have a clinical blood draw. All of the samples and data we collect enable faster and more affordable research aimed at improving people’s health.
If you agree to participate, it’s possible researchers will use your samples and data to study a health condition that you have, or a variation found in your DNA. It’s also possible your samples and data will serve as an important “control” in research; for example, if a researcher is studying a particular disease that you do not have, they may still need your sample as a comparison against a sample from someone who does have the disease. That’s why it’s important for people of all backgrounds, ages, and health status to join the Biobank. Everyone has the power to make a difference in research!
The Biobank has recruited over 160,000 patients whose samples and data have supported more than 600 studies!