Human tissue for research purposes can be rather complicated.  Keep in mind, your institution has requirements, the FDA has requirements and the patient has requirements.  If you get the tissue from another institution...you guessed it, more requirements.
 
I have worked with Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) with this and with some things you need the patient's permission.  Some hospitals (usually teaching hospitals and large research institutions) have this covered when a patient is admitted.  When the patient signs the stack of paperwork to have their surgery, there will be a small sentence that releases that tissue to be used for research purposes.
 
The first thing I would check, though, is what the requirements for the research study are.  Sometimes that can decide where your tissue comes from.  Second, check with your facility administrator and the chief investigator (I don't know if you are in a hospital or a private lab--it will be different for each)  about the legal issues that may surround you obtaining tissue from a source other than your own lab.  The paperwork for such an endeavor can be mind-numbing.
 
Another option would be to talk to the investigator to see if they have any colleagues that would be willing to donate tissue.  (Sometimes you can get it already processed!)  Getting it that way tends to be easier, especially if good documentation on the tissue already exists.
 
If none of this works, call a major university near you and see if they have a "research tissue bank" or other such department.  These guys and gals do nothing but collect various tissues and tumors for the myriad researchers at thier own institutions and may be willing to part with it.  (We have something like that here at Vanderbilt, but I don't know if they sell it to outside institutions.)
 
Sorry this is long, but I hope it helps some.
 
Ashley Troutman BS, HT(ASCP)QIHC
Histopathology Laboratory
Department of Pathology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, TN
    
Message: 17
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:18:49 -0500
From: Elizabeth M Heimrich 
Subject: [Histonet] Human tissue for research purposes
To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Message-ID: <4925C629.1000909@bms.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello Histonetters,
  I have an investigator that is in need of human tissue samples.  We
would need IBD/UC colon and RA joint/synovium as of right now.  Does
anyone know where I could locate these tissues?  I found three suppliers
online, but I was wondering if there are more out there.  Do hospitals
donate tissue for research purposes?  I know there are a lot of
legal/ethical issues surrounding human tissue...
I know this topic has been discussed before, but the histonet archives
are not available to me right now (technical issue).
Thanks,
Beth
 
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