The peterborough hospital human tissue bank

The Peterborough Hospital Human Tissue Bank, based in the Cellular Pathology Department of the District Hospital, has been successful in supplying commercial biomedical companies with human tissue for research purposes. Tissue is obtained from routine surgical specimens sent to the laboratory for diagnostic testing and from cadaveric donors examined in the hospital mortuary. All tissue is obtained legally and with the full informed consent of the patient, donor or relative, as appropriate. The mechanism of retrieving, storing and supplying human tissue is described. In publishing the activities of the tissue bank at Peterborough, we wish to encourage others to consider the availability of human tissue in their locality. We recommend a strict legal and ethical code, particularly in relation to fully informed consent.