About Us
Human tissue research plays a vital role in developing a deeper understanding of human disease processes and their underlying mechanisms. Studying changes at the molecular and cellular level in human tissue makes it possible to relate the patient’s symptoms to the disease processes (pathology). This in turn increases the likelihood of effective new medicines being developed to treat diseases that currently are poorly treated (such as osteoarthritis).
Human tissue is used to further the understanding of disease processes, predict the likely effectiveness of a potential new medicine and to identify some of the possible unwanted effects. It is valuable, therefore, in the drug discovery process by enabling earlier and better predictions about the effectiveness and safety of a new compound. The UK Human Tissue Bank (UKHTB) is a not-for-profit organisation established to increase the availability and use of human tissue in research.
The team at UKHTB is committed to the ethical development of the service as an effective contributor to the improvement of human health, whilst facilitating the refinement, reduction and replacement of animal tests.
Based at De Montfort University in Leicester, and established in 1999, the UKHTB receives donations of non-transplantable human tissue for processing and distribution to support research. The availability of human tissue for research is governed by many legal, ethical, cultural and practical considerations; UKHTB seek to provide an effective mechanism whereby researchers can be supplied with the types of human tissues that they require in an ethical and transparent manner.
