Tissue Bank

What is the Tissue Bank?

The Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank is a secure storage facility where blood and tissue samples are kept for use in future research. Currently, once a research study is approved, the researcher must collect their own blood and tissue samples before they can begin their research, which often takes a long time.

The Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank can improve this process by providing researchers and doctors with blood and tissue samples which have already been collected. This speeds up the process so research can begin quickly, and the possibility of discovering medications and possible cures for diseases can happen much sooner.

How Do I Participate?

You may be asked to take part in The Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank if you are being seen at Froedtert Hospital or The Medical College of Wisconsin for screening, evaluation, diagnosis or treatment. As a patient, you have the option to allow The Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank to store your blood and tissue along with identifying information related to your specimens such as your name, date of birth, and sex.

Your specimens would be stored for possible use in future research studies. These studies may result in the discovery of medication, advancement of treatments, and even possible cures for diseases. You will not be paid for your specimens nor receive any payment from patents or products that result from the research.

If you consent, extra blood will be collected at your next routine blood draw. No extra needle sticks will be necessary and the amount of extra blood taken will be less than 1 tablespoon.

In the event that you have surgery, we would also be asking to store any leftover tissue from that surgery as well as any future surgeries that you may have. The leftover tissue that we would receive is tissue not needed by your doctor for clinical reasons, such as a diagnosis, and is normally discarded.

No additional procedures will be done for the purpose of The Medical College of Wisconsin Tissue Bank.

If you choose to participate, you can change your mind and withdraw, in writing, at any time. No matter what your decision is, it will not affect your health care. If you are interested, please speak with the clinic desk, or call 414-805-8829 to schedule a consent conference.

Need More Information?

The Medical College of Wisconsin
MCW Tissue Bank
8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
Phone: 414-805-8829
Fax: 414-805-8825

Institutional Review Board

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee of doctors, researchers and members of the community who are responsible for protecting the rights, welfare and privacy of all individuals who participate in research sponsored by The Medical College of Wisconsin as well as Froedtert Hospital.

The IRB reviews all research studies involving human subjects to ensure safety, compliance with laws and regulations, scientific quality, and ethical standards. Specimens donated to the Tissue Bank cannot be used for research without the permission of the IRB.

Your Privacy is Important to Us

While we make every effort to keep your information confidential, it is possible that an unauthorized person might see it. To guard against this, information in the Tissue Bank is password-protected and access to the bank is limited to authorized personnel.

The Medical College of Wisconsin is required by law to protect your health information; however, the law does afford exceptions for certain agencies and persons to see and share your health information for research. These may include the sponsors of the research; the Food and Drug Administration; Department of Health and Human Services; and/or Data Safety Monitoring Boards.

The Medical College of Wisconsin only provides your health information to these groups when required by law or approved by the Institutional Review Board.