Requesting samples

Researchers can request heart tissue and data from the Netherlands Heart Tissue Bank (NHTB) by emailing the request form to research@hartenbank.nl. After submitting the request form, the application is reviewed by the Data Access Committee (DAC) and the ethics committee for biobanks. Once both give a positive advice, the NLHI board approves the request. Researchers then receive an invoice and a Material and Data Transfer Agreement.

After signing, the requested material and data are delivered. Researchers are expected to provide progress updates to the DAC every six months and to acknowledge the use of NHTB material and data in their publications.

I want to request tissue

The NLHI Heart Tissue Bank is a non-profit organization. We charge a fee for the materials to keep the biobank running. The fee goes, for example, to the processing of materials in the laboratory and the storage thereof.

In order to receive heart tissue, researchers must submit a well-substantiated application. The Scientific Review Committee of the Heart Tissue Bank then assesses all applications, for example the feasibility and quality of the research. After approval, they sign an agreement stating how the tissue should be handled. The agreement stipulates, among other things, that the issued tissue may only be used for the approved research project. The tissue remains the property of the Heart Tissue Bank. It is forbidden to provide the tissue to third parties without the permission of the Heart Tissue Bank or to use it irresponsibly.

For researchers who are interested in using material and data we have the following documents available:

Material

Material currently stored in the Heart Tissue Bank:

  • (transmural) left ventricular and right ventricular;
  • left/right atrial appendage;
  • epicardial fat;
  • transversal tissue of the pulmonary artery/veins, ascending aorta, and coronary arteries (LAD, RCx, RCA)
  • (transmural) left ventricular and right ventricular;
  • LAD/RCA/RCx decalcified parrafin embedded material;
  • tricuspid valve, mitral valve, pulmonary valve, aortic valve;
  • SA-node, AV-node;
  • Left-/Right-atrium;
  • Photos of a wide range of (immuno-)histochemical stainings of cardiac tissues are available upon request

left ventricular and right ventricular tissue for electron microscope analysis

Serum & Plasma samples obtained during the autopsy from the right ventricle.

* If additional bio-banking is desirable for future research projects, please contact us to explore the possibilities.

** Quality checks are carried out periodically to check and guarantee the quality of the material. Details about the procedure and the results will follow as soon as they are available.

Requesting samples: How does it work?

Financial contribution

The NLHI-Hartenbank is a non-profit organisation and the financial contribution is meant as compensation for the costs of collecting and storing tissue samples. With the financial contribution of researchers, the NLHI-Hartenbank covers part of the costs for donor recruitment, autopsies and accompanying logistics, processing samples in the lab, determining the cardiopathological diagnosis, and storage of our collected samples. When submitting grants for researchprojects which plan to use NLHI-Hartenbank tissue, we recommend to include the estimated financial contribution in the grant application budget.

The financial contribution per sample for non-profit organisations is € 196,-.The NLHI-Hartenbank maintains a different price category for for-profit organisations. For more information about this please send an email to research@heart-institute.nl

                                                                              

Contact & questions

Do you have any questions? Send us an email via research@hartenbank.

I want to request tissue