Our Future Health

• Research type

  Research Tissue Bank

• IRAS ID

  363936

• Research summary

  Our Future Health

• REC name

  East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  26/EE/0030

• Date of REC Opinion

  9 Mar 2026

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion

• Data collection arrangements

  Our Future Health is collecting information and samples from up to 5 million adults across the UK. Participant engagement and awareness is primarily through mailed letters. Individuals do not have to receive a letter to become a consented participant and Our Future Health is using national and local awareness activities to enhance scale, diversity and geographic coverage. Individuals interested in becoming a member of Our Future Health can read the consent and participant information sheet on our website before consenting to become a participant. Consented participants are asked to complete a questionnaire about their lifestyle and health as well as book an in-person appointment to have some physical measurements taken and provide a small sample of blood. We link to participant health-related records and generate genetic information from the donated blood samples. Blood samples are stored long-term for future research uses. Participants provide consent to be re-contacted for a variety of purposes including selective invitation to additional studies and trials based on the health-related information.

• Research programme

  Our Future Health is the UK’s largest ever health research programme. Today, too many people spend many years of their later lives in poor health. Our Future Health’s mission is to help everyone live longer, healthier lives through the discovery and testing of more effective approaches to prevention, earlier detection and treatment of diseases. Registered researchers with approved studies are able to apply to access de-identified data and blood samples to make new discoveries about health and disease. Discoveries made through Our Future Health could lead to new ways to predict, prevent and detect diseases earlier in life when they can be treated more easily, including diseases such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

• Storage license

  12624

• RTBTitle

  Our Future Health

• Establishment organisation

  Our Future Health