Donating a blood sample

If you wish to donate a blood sample, the amount of blood we collect from you is small, less than 25 ml (2 tablespoons, less than 5% of a normal blood donation). This will not affect your next donation if you are a registered Blood Donor. The blood will be used to isolate your DNA and other blood components such as the different type of blood cells and the fluid in which the cells are floating. Volunteers’ DNA and other samples are stored and used to determine their suitability for Cambridge BioResource research studies in the future. All samples are stored anonymously. To find out more about how we use DNA samples to invite volunteers to studies please read the section on membership. To donate a blood sample you can visit the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at Addenbrooke's Hospital which is located on level 5 of the Addenbrooke’s Centre for Clinical Investigation and is open 9.00–17.00 Monday to Friday. To make an appointment please contact us. Appointments take approximately 20 minutes and are available at short notice.

If you are a registered Blood Donor and usually donate at the Cambridge Blood Donor Centre at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, we may be able to collect your sample during your next donation visit. To enquire about this, please contact the NHSBT BioResource team on Freephone 0800 085 3650.

If you are unable to travel to Addenbrooke's to donate your sample, a Cambridge BioResource research nurse may be able to visit you at home or at work. Home or work visits may be available outside normal working hours. We are unable however to collect blood samples over the weekend, as the laboratory is not open at this time.