The Fetal Tissue Bank
The MRC Fetal Tissue Bank (FTB), based at the Hammersmith Hospital, London was originally established in the 1950s. The FTB was one of only two human embryonic/fetal tissue banks in the UK, the other being the HDBR.
The FTB originally collected samples between 8 and 19 weeks of gestation but, more recently, had been collecting closely similar stages to the HDBR (4-12 weeks). In 2005 the HDBR took over the management of the Fetal Tissue Bank (FTB) and is now able to offer tissue for research from the FTB resource.
The FTB is composed of samples from individual organs of foetuses between 8 and 19 weeks of gestation. Most of this material was frozen at -80ºC at the time of collection. A limited amount has been cryopreserved at -150ºC for the generation of cell lines. There is also some tissue preserved in wax blocks including placenta samples which have not routinely been collected by the HDBR.
Hence the FTB material is complementary to and so extends the range of research projects that can be supported by the HDBR. The collection is administered through the normal HDBR application process; therefore anyone with full HDBR registration can access this material.
If you are interested in obtaining material from the FTB please
Contact: Human Developmental Biology Resource (HDBR)
Email: HDBR@ich.ucl.ac.uk