Other ways to help the Human Biomaterials Resource Centre

HBRC Access Review Panel

The HBRC uses a committee called the Access Review Panel to look at applications to use the donated material and data. This process is a requirement of the HBRC's own approval by the Research Ethics Committee run by the Healthcare Research Authority.

The HBRC Access Review Panel “meets” in a secure online area where everything discussed is classed as confidential. “Meetings” are open for 2 weeks per application, and this means panel members can view and comment on each application at their own pace, at a time convenient to them.

Although representatives from the HBRC, University safety, and NHS Research & Development units serve on the panel, in many ways, the most important members are our “lay members” – people with no expertise in biobanking, or research, or the inner workings of hospitals and universities.

Lay members' views are taken very seriously, because they give us an idea of how the proposed research might be received by patients and the general public. We regard this process as a form of Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE).

If you're interested in being a lay member, please contact us. If we have no openings in the Access Review Panel, with your permission, we will forward your name to other PPIE committees.

Biobank Champions

The HBRC is considering how we could use members of the public to promote the idea of material and data donation in hospitals and communities. If you're interested in helping spread our message, please contact us.