URoBank
URoBank is a research tissue bank (biobank), based in the Jack Birch Unit at the University of York, under the directorship of Professor Jenny Southgate. We collect, store and provide a repository for human material donated for research, such as blood, urine and urological tissue specimens in healthy and diseased states. We work to promote cross-disciplinary communication between scientists, clinicians and industry specialists who all share an interest in diseases of the urinary tract.
Our samples are for use by researchers who want to better understand healthy and disease states of the bladder and urinary system, with a goal of improving treatments and providing new therapies to patients.
How do we obtain human tissue samples?
As with all biobanks, URoBank relies on patient participants to voluntarily donate samples for research. All of our samples are collected with fully informed patient consent by NHS clinical teams, using approved information and consent forms.
Our tissue collection centres include the following:
- Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield
- James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
- York Hospital
- Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
- Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
- Royal Surrey County Hospital.
Ethical approval
URoBank was opened in November 2016 and has ethical approval granted by an NHS Research Ethics Committee (Leeds East; REC Ref: 21/YH/0225). The storage and use of these tissues in research is licensed under the Human Tissue Act 2004 (License no. 12604).
Information for researchers
URoBank is a UKCRC registered biobank. For external researchers wishing to access material from URoBank, further information can be found in the UKCRC Tissue Database.
For further information about our research programme at URoBank, or how to access tissues for research, please contact the tissue bank manager Professor Jenny Southgate (j.southgate@york.ac.uk).