Australian tissue bank begins operations
Australia's new Wesley Research Institute Tissue Bank began accepting cancer tissue this week -- the first tissue bank of its kind in Queensland.
Julie Campbell, director of The Wesley Research Institute, said the absence of large, high quality cancer tissue and blood collections with clinical data is a major barrier to improving care of cancer patients.
Dr John Lumley, a surgeon at The Wesley Hospital, said the specimens would be donated by consenting patients during the course of their treatment.
"Every cell contains a clue that can make a difference to tomorrow's cancer patients," Lumley said.
The tissue and blood specimens will be stored in two vapor phase nitrogen storage vessels freezers that have the capacity to house more than 164,000 samples, preserving the samples' proteins and genetic material nearly indefinitely.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
