Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Biopreserv Biobank. 2020 Aug;18(4):266-273. doi: 10.1089/bio.2019.0138. Epub 2020 Jun 17.
The use of human-derived samples is vital to numerous areas of biological and medical research. Despite this, researchers often find or anticipate difficulty in sourcing samples. There are ongoing efforts to increase the visibility and accessibility of UK human tissue biobanking, but minimal (if any) research on the reasons behind researchers' choice of sample source has been undertaken. We have analyzed UK researchers' motivations on using their preferred sample sources and their perceived barriers to human sample use. The study was based on an online survey of academic and industry researchers, followed by focus groups, with participants across the United Kingdom. Both the survey and focus groups probed participants' views on the barriers to finding and using human samples in research. One hundred ninety-eight academic and industry researchers completed the survey on their human sample use, and five focus groups consisting of 21 total participants took place. The top cited reasons for choosing sources included the availability of linked clinical data (40%), the geographical location of the resource (39%), and preexisting collaboration (33%). Focus group participants highlighted their strong preference for local or known sample sources, which were preferred because additional scientific and logistical input could be obtained for their work and they were more confident that the samples would be of good quality. We found that there were significant perceptions of governance barriers to sample access. As a consequence, researchers preferred local and known suppliers because of the perception that these could assist with the governance, would be reliable, and able to provide the additional support they required. Equally, data availability was a major contributor to the selection of a new source of samples. These observations are of significant value to those seeking to improve the access to existing sample resources via online discovery tools.
使用人类来源的样本对于生物和医学研究的众多领域至关重要。尽管如此，研究人员在获取样本时经常会发现或预期到困难。人们一直在努力提高英国人体组织生物库的可见度和可及性，但对于研究人员选择样本来源的原因几乎没有（如果有的话）研究。我们分析了英国研究人员使用首选样本来源的动机，以及他们认为使用人体样本的障碍。该研究基于对英国各地学术和行业研究人员的在线调查和焦点小组，调查和焦点小组都探讨了参与者对在研究中发现和使用人体样本的障碍的看法。198 名学术和行业研究人员完成了关于其人类样本使用情况的调查，共进行了 5 次焦点小组讨论，每次讨论有 21 名参与者参加。选择来源的首要原因包括可获得相关联的临床数据（40%）、资源的地理位置（39%）和预先存在的合作（33%）。焦点小组参与者强调了他们对本地或已知样本来源的强烈偏好，因为可以为他们的工作获得额外的科学和后勤投入，并且他们更有信心这些样本的质量会很好。我们发现，人们对获取样本的监管障碍存在明显的看法。因此，研究人员更喜欢本地和知名的供应商，因为他们认为这些供应商可以协助监管，值得信赖，并且能够提供他们所需的额外支持。同样，数据可用性也是选择新样本来源的主要因素。这些观察结果对于那些希望通过在线发现工具来改善现有样本资源的获取途径的人具有重要价值。
