The Foetal Tissue Bank

The MRC Foetal Tissue Bank (FTB), based at the Hammersmith Hospital, London was originally established in the 1950s. The FTB was one of only 2 human embryonic/foetal tissue banks in the UK, the other being the HDBR. The FTB originally collected samples between 8 and 19 weeks of gestation but, more recently, had been collecting closely similar stages to the HDBR (4-12 weeks). In 2005 the HDBR took over the management of the Foetal Tissue Bank (FTB) and we are now able to offer tissue for research from the FTB resource.

The FTB is composed of samples from individual organs of foetuses between 8 and 19 weeks of gestation. Most of this material was frozen at -80ºC at the time of collection. A limited amount has been cryopreserved at -150ºC for the generation of cell lines. There is also some tissue preserved in wax blocks including placenta samples which have not routinely been collected by the HDBR.

Hence the FTB material is complementary to and so extends the range of research projects we can support. We are intending to administer this collection through the normal HDBR application process therefore anyone with full HDBR registration can access this material. If you are interested in obtaining material from the FTB please contact HDBR@ich.ucl.ac.uk.