NIH-funded research NIH-funded research

Human organs and tissues resource

Official title: Research Resource for Human Organs and Tissues

Funded at National Disease Research Interchange · NIH-11166561 · Data updated 2026-11-12

This program provides doctors and scientists with donated human organs and tissues to help develop better tests and treatments for many diseases.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionNational Disease Research Interchange
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Philadelphia, United States)
Project startJanuary 9, 1989
Project endJune 30, 2026
Funding year2025
Award (this year)$1,686,404
NIH project number5U42OD011158-35
Project IDNIH-11166561 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Ideal participants are people willing to donate surgical tissue, organs, or post-mortem samples for research, or families who consent to donation after a loved one dies.

Less likely to help

People who do not donate tissue or whose conditions are not represented in available samples are unlikely to receive direct benefit from the program.

What this research studies

If I or a loved one donates tissue or organs, this program connects those donations to researchers who need them. They work with a national network of hospitals and tissue source sites to collect, annotate, and deliver both healthy and diseased human biospecimens using project-specific protocols. The resource offers 24/7 customer support for researchers and follows industry best practices to keep samples high quality and well documented. They also do outreach so more people and clinicians know how to donate and request specimens.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: By supplying well-annotated human tissues reliably, this resource can speed discoveries that lead to new diagnostics and treatments for patients.

How similar studies have gone: Biobanks and tissue-sharing networks have a long track record of enabling scientific discoveries, so this is an established approach rather than an untested idea.

Where this research is happening

  • National Disease Research Interchange
    Philadelphia, United States
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Bell, Thomas J — National Disease Research Interchange
  • Study coordinator: Bell, Thomas J

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.