How It Works

In order to join the Partners Biobank, please click the button below to read our consent form and linked information. You can then follow the simple instructions to provide your consent electronically on this web site. If you prefer, you can also contact us to schedule a time to meet with one of our Research Coordinators at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, McLean Hospital, or Spaulding Rehabilitation Network.

When you provide your consent to join the Partners Biobank, you agree to provide a blood sample linked with your electronic medical record. You also agree to be re-contacted by Partners Biobank staff in the future.

The Health Information Survey is a short questionnaire that should  take about 5-10 minutes. The survey provides researchers with information that will help them understand how lifestyle, environment and family history contribute to disease. You may skip any questions you do not want to answer. Your responses will not change your medical care in any way.  For example, the questionnaire will ask you about:

• Whether you smoke cigarettes or how much you exercise.
• The environment in which you live and work (for example, your exposure to the sun and what type of job you have).
• Your family history (for example, whether your parents have diabetes or cancer).

Once you have provided your consent, we would like a blood sample from you. Our Biobank staff is available to perform research blood draws at the MGH and BWH main campuses. Directions are below.

If you cannot stop by one of our Biobank desks and blood is collected for your clinical care during your visit at the MGH or BWH main campuses, there is nothing more that you need to do!  We will use the leftover from your clinical blood draw. In the future, we may collect another sample from you while you are having blood drawn for clinical care.

Unfortunately, we cannot yet collect blood in locations other than the BWH and MGH main campuses in Boston, but we are working hard on changing this. In the future, we hope to be able to collect blood samples at all hospitals and clinics across the Partners HealthCare system. The Biobank is a long-term study, and your blood sample will help researchers whether it is collected now or in the future. If you cannot go the BWH and MGH main campuses, there is nothing more that you need to do!  In the future, we may collect a sample from you while you are having blood drawn for clinical care at any of Partners HealthCare hospital or clinic.