Human Tissue Research and Donation

Human Tissues

Human tissues are an essential resource for scientific research and have played a crucial role in advancing our understanding of disease progression and drug development. The use of human tissue has led to the development of more effective and safer drugs, as well as improved treatments and therapies for various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease.

Obtaining Human Tissue

Human tissue is typically obtained post-mortem from organ donors, as well as through surgery remnants and bodily fluids such as blood. Registering to become an organ and tissue donor is a way to increase the number of human samples available for research, which can ultimately help prevent and treat diseases.

Barriers to Using Human Tissues

The availability of human tissue is often cited as one of the main barriers to its use in scientific research. To address this issue, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) convened The Human Tissue Roundtable, which led to the development of recommendations for simplifying donation consent forms, improving communication, increasing continuing education opportunities, creating a database to match tissue providers with researchers, and establishing quality control criteria for each tissue or cell type.

Human Tissue Research Breakthroughs

Scientists have used human tissue to make significant advancements in various fields of health research. For example, researchers have used human lung tissue derived from patients affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to study the disease's pathology and develop potential treatments. Additionally, human skin cells left over from surgeries have been used to develop a test that more accurately identifies skin cancer.

Technologies that Use Donated Human Tissue

Several technologies have been developed to use donated human tissue for research purposes. These include:

• Disease-in-a-Dish: This technology involves growing human cells in a lab dish to study diseases and test potential treatments.
• Tissue-on-a-Chip: These are micro devices that mimic the structure and function of human tissues, allowing for the study of disease progression and drug development.
• Patient-Derived Samples: These are tissue samples taken directly from patients to study specific diseases and conditions.
• 3-D Bioprinting: This technology involves printing human cells into three-dimensional structures to study the development of tissues and organs.
• High-Throughput Screening: This technology involves testing large numbers of potential treatments on human tissue samples to identify the most effective ones.

Donating Your Tissue

Individuals can donate their tissues by registering as a donor through organizations such as OrganDonor.gov, Donate Life, or the National Disease Research Interchange. Donations can include blood, tissue from surgery, or organs after death.

In summary, human tissues are a valuable resource for scientific research that has led to significant advancements in our understanding of disease and the development of new treatments. By donating tissue, individuals can help increase the availability of these resources and contribute to the development of more effective drugs and therapies.