Future plans for the UK Brain Banks network
The initial aims for the Network have already been achieved – all the UK brain banks are members and work together in the Network Management Group to agree common standards of operation and to harmonise protocols for consent, tissue handling and storage, quality indicators and application for access to tissue samples. These activities have been informed by the User Group, a group of scientists who use human brain tissue in their research activities and provide invaluable advice to the Network as to how best to meet the needs of researchers who require brain tissue samples for their scientific work.
An important early aim of the Network was to improve the supply of “healthy” tissue that can be used in scientific studies as a control for tissue samples from patients with neurological disorders. To help achieve this, MRC now funds 2 brain banks that focus on the collection of control tissue samples, located in the University of Edinburgh (Sudden Death Bank) and the University of Oxford (Thomas Willis Collection). Both of which were recently funded to undertake this essential collection. Already, numerous numbers of samples of normal tissue have been requested by researchers across the UK for a number of projects including large scale genetic investigations into neurological diseases.
An online database for the Network is under development. It is anticipated that by mid-2013 the database will be completed with data from the all members of the Network, allowing registered researchers a new opportunity to access details of the entire brain tissue sample collection across the UK. Researchers interested in specific samples will be directed to the Brain Banks where these samples are stored, so that further information on the samples can be obtained and the relevant applications for access to the samples submitted.
One of the major future aims of the Network is to establish a donor programme that will meet the needs of both researchers and potential donors. Some of the UK brain banks already have donor programmes in place and the Director will explore how these can work together. A Network - specific web page will be developed for donors so that a source of information is available for any queries about brain donation, to allow potential donors to register their interest and then to be directed towards the Brain Bank that is most relevant to their wishes.
The UK Brain Banks Network is taking part in two major projects intended to harmonise the standards for tissue collection and storage, taking and recording consent, data collection and storage and tissue access policy. One is led by the UK Confederation of Cancer BioBanks and the other is STRATUM, a partnership between industry and leading UK funders to ensure that standards and protocols for biobanking meet the requirements of funders and are responsive to the needs of researchers. In these respects, the UK Brain Banks Network is seen as leading the field in coordinating activities across a series of banks with related interests to facilitate the availability of tissue samples to researchers.