York Tissue Bank
In collaboration with York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the University of York established the York Tissue Bank (YTB): a tissue bank to help research into human disease.
We aim to collect, store and build a repository of human tissue samples, such as urine, blood and tumours.
Our samples will be provided to researchers working on studies that aim to improve our understanding of human health and potentially lead to new methods of diagnosis, better treatments and vaccines for a wide range of diseases. We rely on participants to voluntarily gift their tissue samples for this vital future research.
Guidance for members of the public
The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) has recently published a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ's) for guidance and information on research tissue banks, also known as bio-banks, and publically available guides that set out your basic rights when dealing with an establishment regulated by the HTA.
The guides also explain how the use of human tissue is regulated in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. This includes who can give consent for different activities, the information you should receive and options for using and disposing of tissue.
There are eight guides in total, each relating to the Codes of Practice we provide to professionals.
Approvals
York Tissue Bank has been approved by the Health Research Authority (National Research Ethics Service) Leeds East Research Ethics Committee (ref: 20/YH/0126); our license number granted by the Human Tissue Authority under section 16 (2) (e) (ii) of the Human Tissue act 2004 is 12604.
Guidance for researchers
University of York staff and students proposing to undertake any work with human tissue must have determined whether their work will be within or outside the jurisdiction of the Human Tissue Act 2004. Failure to observe this legislation may amount to misconduct or gross misconduct and may result in disciplinary action being taken. As such, anyone working with HTA relevant material should contact us to discuss working under the universities HTA licence and to ensure compliance with the universities local rules.
If a research project has NHS Research Ethics Committee (NREC) approval it does not need to be covered by the University’s HTA licence. However, if the tissue is to be retained after NREC approval has expired it must be stored under the HTA licence. For this reason, it is required that all projects with NREC approval adhere to the processes detailed in the Quality Manual.
Any researchers external to the University of York who would like to access samples from YTB, please see our holdings and contact us if you wish to discuss access.
Documents
All participant donations will be received with fully informed consent.
- Download our consent form: YTB Participation information sheet & consent form v5 (MS Word
, 98kb)
Current holdings
- Find descriptions of our current holdings of "fit and well" cervical tissue samples at the UKCRC database or the European BBMRI-ERIC directory.
- A description of our holdings is also available from the Open Journal of Bioresources: Bioresource of Cervical Tissue Explants from Healthy Women.
- An outline of our methodology for cryopreservation of our available cervical tissue was published in the journal Cryobiology in August 2017.
Applications
- For internal or external applicants requesting access to samples held in the York Tissue Bank, please use this form: YTBSOP008 Application Form 1.3 (MS Word , 70kb)
- For internal University of York applicants applying to transfer samples from other approved Tissue Banks into York Tissue Bank, please contact us for advice and complete this document: HTASOP060 Acquisition & Transfer 3.4 (MS Word , 101kb)
Publications
- Methodology for reliable and reproducible cryopreservation of human cervical tissue (Crybiology)
- Bioresource of Cervical Tissue Explants from Healthy Women (Open Journal of Bioresources)
- Human CEACAM1 is targeted by a Streptococcus pyogenes adhesin implicated in puerperal sepsis pathogenesis (Nature Communications)
Other York resources
VIVO BioBank
The University of York and Newcastle have joined forces with two leading cancer charities to create a new biobank that will provide vital resources for researchers working to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in children and young people.
VIVO Biobank builds on the samples previously collected by the CCLG Tissue Bank and CellBank. The biobank is supported by the charities Cancer Research UK and Blood Cancer UK and will provide cancer researchers with a centralised collection of cell and tissue samples from children and young people affect by cancer across the country.