The Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC) Biorepository provides high-quality, clinically annotated normal and diseased human biospecimens for current and future Ohio State University-affiliated research. Our ultimate goal is to enhance human tissue research and precipitate innovative scientific discovery that will result in improved patient treatments and outcomes.
We are a centralized clinical data and biospecimen repository within the Division of Transplantation Surgery. Our biorepository and its Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved Total Transplant Care Protocol (TTCP; IRB Protocol # 2017H0309) and TTCP Honest Broker Protocol (IRB Protocol # 2017H0309) cover the collection, processing, storage and distribution of human specimens and clinical data from Ohio State transplant patients and from healthy donors through Lifeline of Ohio Organ Procurement Agency.
Patients can participate in Ohio State’s Total Transplant Care Program (TTCP) by donating tissue to the Comprehensive Transplant Center’s Biorepository.
The CTC Biorepository and its IRB protocols function to facilitate efficient specimen and data access to researchers, lower administrative burdens, increase the patient participation rates and ensure the protection of patients and their data, while serving to stimulate human tissue research at OSU. Our hope is this translates into researchers being more competitive for grants and high impact publications that further moves our research institute toward an era of great scientific growth.
Please contact CTCBiorepositoryStaff@osumc.edu with any inquiries.
For OSUMC staff/faculty: click here to access SharePoint.
Our Goals
Types of Donors for Biospecimen Procurements
Additional Information
The biorepository will store whole tissue and cells in many preparations (e.g., snap frozen, RNAlater, AllProtect, formalin, cryopreserved), but will also have the expertise to isolate and store cell types of special interest. Collected biospecimens will be processed, preserved, labeled with a unique identification number, bar coded and stored at the CTC Biorepository until distributed to approved investigators. Processed fresh biospecimens can also be distributed to investigators who have prior approval from the IRB (if applicable) and the TTCP Scientific Review Committee.
Biological samples will be collected, processed and stored in accordance with CTC Biorepository’s standard operating procedures that are based on NCI and ISBER Best Practices for Repositories.
- Fresh tissue
- Snap frozen tissue
- Tissue in preservative: RNAlater, AllProtect, formalin
- Tissue in OCT and paraffin
- Single cell suspensions
- Blood components: Plasma/sera and cells
- Non-invasive samples: e.g., lung, liver, kidney biopsies, buccal swabs, oral washings, urine, feces
Biospecimens and/or data may be released to researchers following de-identification or proper IRB approval (if required). Investigators who wish to have data or biospecimens with coded or identified data will be asked to secure IRB approval that should be provided with their application. Once the application is received by the Biorepository, ultimate approval of the release of data or biospecimens to investigators will be the responsibility of the TTCP Scientific Review Committee that meets monthly.
Additionally, our patient informed consent process and IRB protocols will serve to protect the identification of patients, while still ensuring enough information is available for researchers to generate accurate and rigorous data. In all efforts of the CTC Biorepository, we will adhere to the ethical principles of beneficence, justice and respect for all patients.