Virtual Biobank

CHRISTUS Health devotes itself to finding innovative ways to diagnose and treat many diseases through comprehensive biospecimen research. This type of research includes obtaining biospecimen donations from individuals to provide top-of-the-line care for our patients. We provide two types of virtual banks, which include:

Archival Bank: An archival bank offers access to high-quality, annotated, formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, and H&E slides from Pathology departments. Researchers can receive them on a fee-for-sample basis.
4U Bank: 4U Bank provides access to high-quality, annotated biospecimens at a client facility for research purposes on a fee-for-sample basis.

Purpose

Offer CHRISTUS patients with voluntary donation opportunities of their valuable biospecimens to advance biomedical research

Serve physicians and scientists via provision of access to reliable annotated biospecimens for translational and clinical research projects

Bring together CHRISTUS physicians and non-CHRISTUS scientists so they can collaboratively design and lead sophisticated research initiatives

Be the resource of choice for local, national, and international biopharmaceutical companies and academic centers by providing them access to our cache of valuable biospecimens

Salient Features

Access to biospecimens with diverse genetic and epidemiological background
Strict adherence to local and international ethical regulations and standards
Guaranteed quality and collection standard compliance
Same-day shipment services (global coverage)Shipment compliance management system by IATA-trained personnel
Cold chain management of biospecimen, including:
- Controlled ambient: +15˚C to +25˚C
- Refrigerated: +2˚C to +8˚C
- Frozen and deep-frozen: -20˚C to -70˚C
- Liquid nitrogen vapor phase: -180˚C
Flexibility and adaptability to client needs
Dedicated and professional project life-cycle management