How can I help HBRC as a clinician?

If we approach you about your patients, we do so in the knowledge that life isn't perfect:

• You may not have sufficient time during consultation to seek HBRC consent
• Your patient may decline
• Your team may not have enough time to perform phlebotomy when requested
• Surgery may be delayed or cancelled
• There may be no waste tissue, or insufficient diagnostic surplus, to help us

Nonetheless, if you are willing to work with us, we greatly appreciate it!

Please note:

• The HBRC is not like a conventional research study or clinical trial. We are a biobank. Our consent model is generic and enduring. One consent form can last a patient's whole life (unless they withdraw). We are therefore required to operate in a slightly different way to studies and trials.
• Your “delegation” will simply be to seek and obtain consent. The collection of material comes under your routine NHS duties. Your NHS Trust is a “Tissue Collection Centre”, not a “Study Site”. Your Trust's R&D unit is kept informed of HBRC applications and activity, but Trust R&D approval processes are not required by the Healthcare Research Authority per se.
• The Human Tissue Authority expects consent training be repeated periodically, and we have agreed that every 2 years is reasonable. Refresher training consists of rewatching our video(s) and notifying us that you have done so. We only ask you to do this if you continue to be active for us.

Consent essentials: recruiting adults (over-18s) with mental capacity

Please watch the video and

• If you intend to use the HBRC consent form, please also take the comprehension quiz and notify us of its completion.
• If you work for the UHB NHSFT and intend to use the generic research box in the procedural consent form (aka “surgical” or “green form”), you do not currently need to take the comprehension quiz (because it is expected that the UHB will have provided training as part of your induction).

Recruiting adults with, or expecting, mental incapacity

In addition to the consent essentials, please also watch the video. 

Recruiting healthy volunteers over 18

In addition to the consent essentials, please also watch the video.

Recruiting under-18s

In addition to the consent essentials, please also watch the video.

For other types of consent

For cords & cord blood, please contact us for a 5-minute bolt-on training additional to the above.

Thank you for your support!