Ethical, legal and practical issues of establishing an adipose stem cell bank for research
C C West1, I R Murray2, Z N González2
1The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH16 4UU, UK; The BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, The University of Edinburgh, QMRI, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH16 4TJ, UK; Department of Plastic Surgery, St John's Hospital, Howden Road West, Livingston, West Lothian EH54 6PP, UK.
Access to human tissue is critical to medical research, however the laws and regulations surrounding gaining ethical and legal access to tissue are often poorly understood. Recently, there has been a huge increase in the interest surrounding the therapeutic application of adipose tissue, and adipose-derived stem cells. To facilitate our own research interests and possibly assist our local colleagues and collaborators, we established a Research Tissue Bank (RTB) to collect, store and distribute human adipose tissue derived cells with all the appropriate ethical approval for subsequent downstream research. Here we examine the legal, ethical and practical issues relating to the banking of adipose tissue for research in the UK, and discuss relevant international guidelines and policies. We also share our experiences of establishing an RTB including the necessary infrastructure and the submission of an application to a Research Ethics Committee (REC).
Access to human tissue is critical to medical research, however the laws and regulations surrounding gaining ethical and legal access to tissue are often poorly understood. Recently, there has been a huge increase in the interest surrounding the therapeutic application of adipose tissue, and adipose-derived stem cells. To facilitate our own research interests and possibly assist our local colleagues and collaborators, we established a Research Tissue Bank (RTB) to collect, store and distribute human adipose tissue derived cells with all the appropriate ethical approval for subsequent downstream research. Here we examine the legal, ethical and practical issues relating to the banking of adipose tissue for research in the UK, and discuss relevant international guidelines and policies. We also share our experiences of establishing an RTB including the necessary infrastructure and the submission of an application to a Research Ethics Committee (REC).
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