ESSENTIAL SERVICES
COMPANION SERVICES
IU Health Biorepository
- Collects and stores specimens
The biorepository has IRB approval to obtain and store specimens of interest to many investigators. Surgeries are the primary source of collected materials. However, blood, urine, hair, and nails can also be collected as requested. When fresh or fixed tissue is not requested, the material is flash frozen and stored at -140ºC. Fluids are stored at -80ºC. All specimens are annotated with the BTM database. Most of our collections are obtained by request of an investigator and released to the investigator when requested. If PHI is needed by the investigator, an IRB-approved protocol is required from the investigator. If no PHI is needed, the protocol is not required. Samples are available to any investigator within and outside of the IU Health system at a nominal fee on request.
In almost 20 years (we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of establishing a biorepository on the IU Health Methodist Hospital campus in 2024), members of the biorepository team have collected more than 145,000 specimens from more than 22,000 consented patients, and close to 70,000 biological specimens have been distributed to internal as well as external collaborators.
Biorepository Services
Collection and processing:
- Fresh, Frozen, Formalin Fixed Tissue
- Fresh or Frozen Bone, Cartilage
- Whole Blood, serum, plasma
- Urine
- Saliva
- Cerebrospinal Fluid
- Synovial Fluid
- Hair roots
- Nail clipping
Distribution and shipping samples:
- Ambient temperature
- Wet Ice
- Dry Ice
Policies
- Confidentiality
IUH ECRO Biorepository maintains patient confidentiality by using a database system, BTM, which utilizes unique patient identifiers. De-identified clinical and pathologic information may be passed along with the transport of the specimen, if requested by the investigator.
- Cost/Recovery Fee
The Steering committee oversees the annual costs and charges for specimen collection, storage, distribution and shipping. Payment is requested within 60 days after delivery. Fee for Service rates are the same as the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and can be found here:
Please note that not all services listed on IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center Tissue procurement page are available at the IU Health Biorepository.
- Requests
Only research requests presenting approved IRB protocols will be considered.
- Prioritization of Work
The steering committee decides upon procedures mandating dispersal preferences as well as preference procedures for research requests within organizations providing support for the collection endeavor.
- Publication Acknowledgment
If research supported by the IU Health Biorepository results in publication, please acknowledge this support by including the following in your publications:
We thank the IU Health Biorepository for providing us with _______ samples used in this study. (fill in blank with type of samples used)