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Many studies that use the Mayo Clinic Biobank are aimed at better understanding how a person's genes (DNA) may influence overall health and wellness.
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A blood sample and medical information are collected from all Mayo Clinic Biobank participants, who may also permit the use of tissue samples from past and future surgeries at Mayo Clinic.
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The Mayo Clinic Biobank is overseen by several groups, including a Community Advisory Board that ensures decisions are made with input from the community.
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Established in spring 2009 at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic Biobank has enrolled more than 50,000 Mayo Clinic patients.
Overview
Mayo Clinic and the Center for Individualized Medicine have made a significant commitment to building a world-class, scalable biorepository infrastructure, which includes two specimen processing core laboratories and several large centralized biospecimen collections.
One of these biospecimen collections is the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a collection of samples, including blood and blood derivatives, and health information donated by Mayo Clinic patients. Unlike many biobanks in existence at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere, the Mayo Clinic Biobank is not focused on any particular disease. Rather, the Biobank collects samples and health information from patients and other volunteers regardless of health history. Once a participant becomes a part of the Biobank, he or she becomes a part of ongoing health research.