Stem cell donations to biobanks

By S. Mathew

What are organoids?

Organoids are small, simplified versions of organs grown in vitro from stem cells or tissue-derived cells that mimic the function of real human organs. Organoids are commonly made using extracellular matrix scaffolds, cellular 3D printing, and stem-cell differentiation protocols. They are widely used in disease modeling, drug testing, personalized medicine, and tissue engineering. 

What are biobanks?

Biobanks are organized collections of biological samples such as blood, tissue, saliva and DNA. Many biobanks store induced pluripotent stem cells, which are adult cells reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells, and are able to become almost any cell type in the body. Researchers can request these cells and use them to grow organoids tailored to their research.

Why do these matter?

Biobanks and organoids are important because humans are diverse, meaning so do reactions between them and different drugs and diseases. Diseases and reactions to drugs can look different based on factors like age, ancestry, or genetics, so biobanks collecting samples from a diverse group can allow researchers to test across many different groups of people, which is something any animal can’t replicate.

What is the donation process like?

Donating to biobanks is much safer than people realize. Donors go through an informed consent process and learn how their privacy will be protected. Donations can come from healthy volunteers or people with rare or specific conditions or diseases, which are especially valuable in letting researchers study conditions that are otherwise difficult to model.

NARI's mission

For NARI, supporting biobanks is an easy and practical way to replace animal testing with something bigger and better. Using organoids, scientists can model and study much larger, diverse groups, and promote the humanitarian values NARI stands by at the same time.