Oxford Radcliffe Biobank
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The Oxford Radcliffe Biobank (ORB) holds a Human Tissue Authority (HTA) licence for storage of human material for research, licence number 12217. The Licence Holder is the University of Oxford and the Designated Individual (DI) is Dr Clare Verrill. The licence covers activities within Oxford, at the main site, the John Radcliffe Hospital, and at the satellite sites, Cowley Store, Churchill Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Department of Pharmacology. ORB provides infrastructure to underpin biobank activities and delivers a portfolio of integrated services to users, from acquisition, storage and distribution of biospecimens, through to governance, ethical and regulatory cover. The biospecimens and associated information managed by ORB will be used for research studies that may contribute to increasing the knowledge and understanding of disease in order to improve diagnosis and treatment, and could ultimately lead to improvements in patient care. ORB was established in 2006 when a number of active and legacy collections within the University of Oxford and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust were brought together for licensing by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). This was in response to new legislation, the Human Tissue Act (2004), which came into effect on 1 September 2006. ORB acts as a single gateway for access to the many biospecimen collections held in Oxford. Custodians of collections engage with ORB as part of a federated model. A primary focus of ORB is maintenance of a generic, open-access resource of biospecimens donated by patients and research participants for use in medical research and provision of a simple and efficient system to collect, store, curate, and distribute these biospecimens and associated information. In response to the requirements of the Human Tissue Act, ORB operates a multi-site Human Tissue Authority Research Licence with policies and procedures in place to ensure registered collections comply with the legislation. ORB also provides storage facilities according to HTA guidelines. It is recognised that access to large numbers of high-quality, clinically annotated biomaterials is vital for the advancement of medical research and healthcare delivery. ORB facilitates this access and enhances the research infrastructure by working with all stakeholders to ensure effective sharing of information, resources and best practice.

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