Appeal For Blood Sample Donations

Patients are being invited to donate their leftover blood samples for use in research. More than 55,000 people have already registered for the scheme which allows participants to donate blood left over from routine tests. It is part of a wider initiative called the Scottish Health Research Register (Share), a confidential database of people in Scotland who are willing to take part in medical research studies. The target is to recruit 100,000 people before the end of the year. It is a collaboration between universities and the NHS in Scotland, and is funded by the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office. Professor Brian McKinstry from Edinburgh University, who is lead director of Share, said: Having a list of potentially interested volunteers with links to their health history will be an incredibly powerful tool for medical science.It will help make Scotland a world leader for medical research.'' By signing up to the register, people aged over 16 agree to be contacted about participating in medical studies. If a person is identified as potentially suitable, they will be told about the study and invited to take part. People who register for the scheme also grant permission for their blood to be passed to scientists.