About the MCRC Biobank

OCRB side at night

Established in 2008, the MCRC Biobank has transformed the way biological samples are collected and supplied for ground-breaking cancer research projects within the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and beyond.

The MCRC Biobank brings together organised tissue, blood and other sample collection across four NHS Trusts under one centralised infrastructure and governance framework, to facilitate the provision of samples of highest quality as efficiently as possible.

Regulated under The Christie NHS Foundation Trust Human Tissue Authority Licence for Research, the MCRC Biobank maintains the highest standards of regulatory compliance with respect to patient consent, secure sample storage and sample tractability whilst a robust Access Policy ensures that samples are released for high quality scientific research. Working to standardised SOPs developed by local experts, the MCRC Biobank not only routinely collects and banks samples for future use, but also routinely prospectively collects samples to meet the needs of Biobank applicants. The MCRC Biobank has evolved a flexible biobanking model to ensure the Biobank can meet the needs to researchers both now and in future.

Ultralow temperature freezers in the OCRB

MCRC Biobank Governance

The MCRC Biobank head office is located within The Christie on the Wilmslow Road site. This includes the laboratory facilities, -80°C freezers and the FFPE block store as well as offices for the management and informatics function of the Biobank and the Christie sample collection staff. The MCRC Biobank also has liquid nitrogen tanks based in the Oglesby Cancer Research Building opposite the main hospital site and works in partnership with the CRUK Manchester Institute based temporarily at Alderley Park following the Paterson building fire.

To ensure the MCRC Biobank can be a tool for all areas of cancer research, samples need to be collected from as many cancer disease groups as possible. To target these different cancer groups, the MCRC Biobank collects samples from four collaborating Trusts across the region. These are:

At most sites, sample collection is primarily focussed on patients undergoing surgery where surplus tissue can be collected in addition to matched blood and other fluid samples, such as urine or other fluids. However, as The Christie NHS Foundation is a tertiary cancer centre, sample collection here also incorporates serial sample collection from patients on active treatments as well as a focus on more rare tumour types.

Accessing the MCRC Biobank

The MCRC Biobank is licensed by the Human Tissue Authority and has been ethically approved as a research tissue bank by the South Manchester Research Ethics Committee.

Information for Patients

Find out more about the sample biobanking process.

Human Tissue Governance

In addition to collecting samples for research, the MCRC Biobank also houses the Human Tissue Governance Team who look after all the regulatory compliance for use of human tissue in research.

Contact the MCRC Biobank