BDSB Research Database v4.0
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
361369
Contact name
Emanuele Di Angelantonio
Contact email
Research summary
Blood Donors Studies BioResource Research Database
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EE/0172
Date of REC Opinion
20 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
The Blood Donors Studies BioResource (BDSB) will include information for up to 170,000 whole blood donors who joined the INTERVAL study (between June 2012 and June 2014), the COMPARE study (between February 2016 and March 2017), the STRIDES BioResource study (from March 2019 until November 2022) and the SHAPE-Plasma study (ongoing from June 2025 for a minimum of 18 month).
Participants in these studies were asked to agree to analysis of their genetic information, blood samples and health records, along with long-term storage and use of their samples and data as part of a ‘BioResource’.
The following information collected from participants in the Blood Donors Studies will be included in the BioResource:
● Data from study questionnaires on lifestyle
● Data on physical activity and cognitive function tests
● Blood donation records
Information from blood tests taken at the donation visits e.g. genetic makeup, blood cell characteristics and
measurements of other biological molecules present in the blood
● Information from healthcare records e.g. records of hospital or GP care and details from screening programmes,
disease registers and clinical audits of care for specific conditions.
The data is stored securely at the University of Cambridge. There are strict controls in place to protect participant confidentiality and to prevent unauthorised access to the data.Research programme
The INTERVAL, COMPARE, STRIDES BioResource and SHAPE-Plasma studies will include a large group of healthy whole blood donors. As well as their primary purpose of increasing the safety of blood donation and maintaining the national blood supply, the data and samples collected in these studies (which form the Blood Donors Studies BioResource) have huge potential for understanding the health of the population and the causes of disease. To maximise the value of this BioResource for research, we are establishing it as a ‘research database’. This will help us to: ● Obtain information regarding the health of participants in the BioResource from electronic healthcare records. ● Allow approved researchers to access the data in the database more easily. The data that is shared with researchers will not have any identifiable details such as the participant’s name or date of birth. All projects will need to be approved by a data access committee which includes senior scientists responsible for the blood donor studies and public representatives. The research database will allow scientists to carry out a wide range of research including studying the mechanisms by which interaction of our genes and our environment lead to disease. This will help to improve disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Research database title
Blood Donors Studies BioResource Research Database
Establishment organisation
University of Cambridge
Establishment organisation address
School of Clinical Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 0SP