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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
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Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research
Published on: November 26, 2015
How to efficiently obtain human tissues to support specific biomedical research projects
Walter C Bell1, Katherine C Sexton, William E Grizzle
1University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0007, USA. grizzle@uab.edu
Summary
Researchers can improve access to human tissue samples by understanding available resources and addressing common request challenges. Discussing needs with tissue banks helps overcome limitations and ensures adequate tissue supply for biomedical research.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Research
- Tissue Banking
- Research Resources
Background:
- Access to human tissues is crucial for biomedical research.
- Tissue resources present challenges that can limit investigator access.
- Understanding these challenges is key to improving tissue availability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To facilitate researcher access to human tissues.
- To describe available human tissue resources.
- To identify and address common problems in tissue requests.
Main Methods:
- Review of available human tissue resources.
- Analysis of common problems encountered in tissue requests.
- Description of the University of Alabama Tissue Collection and Banking Facility (TCBF) experience.
Main Results:
- Common request problems include specimen size/number, tissue type rarity, time constraints, and demand-supply imbalances.
- Resource limitations and the time/resources for requests also impact availability.
- Investigator requests often face specific limitations that block access.
Conclusions:
- Researchers not receiving adequate human tissue quantities should review their requests.
- Discussing requests directly with tissue resources is essential.
- Addressing specific limitations in requests enhances access to needed human tissues.
