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onCore UK is a national cancer biobank - a collection of samples from the human body donated by cancer patients for use in cancer research. We are a charity funded by the Department of Health (England), the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK.
Our mission is
“To serve as a national biosample and information resource to enable research towards the discovery and development of new interventions against cancer.”
Our key goals are:
1. to collect, store and redistribute biosamples for research within a robust framework of ethics and standards;
2. to establish and follow standard protocols so that biosamples collected in different places can be reliably compared in research;
3. to work with other biobanks in the UK and internationally to improve quality standards and accessibility of biosamples for research.
onCore UK works with selected NHS hospitals in different parts of the country to collect biosamples and relevant clinical data donated by cancer patients. Biosamples are stored in a secure repository until researchers apply to use them. We make anonymised biosamples and data available for scientifically and ethically approved research on a cost-recovery basis.
We seek feedback from researchers and monitor research trends to ensure that the samples we collect are fit for purpose and are as useful as possible for future research.
onCore UK works with other cancer biobanks in the UK via the Confederation of Cancer Biobanks, and with other biobanks internationally, to improve access for researchers to larger numbers of high quality biosamples, to harmonise how biobanks work and to share expertise for the benefit of all involved.
onCore UK also offers a biosample acquisition and hosting service to researchers who need to collect and store samples for their own specific projects - further details are available on request.
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