The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center will collect blood samples from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Military Park on race day. Two tents in the southwest corner of the park will be used by tissue bank volunteers to collect a small blood sample from volunteer donors.
In the first tent, participants will fill out a consent form and a questionnaire that focuses on medial history. The form and questionnaire will take 20 to 30 minutes to complete. Donors are encouraged to bring along a list of medications they currently are taking.
In the second tent, participants will have two tablespoons of blood drawn, which will take about 10 minutes.
By collecting blood from women with and without breast cancer, researchers will be able to determine the differences between these populations, which could lead to a better understanding of the disease. Blood samples taken from women without the disease are especially helpful because there are few collections of so-called “normal” specimens. The project ultimately will give researchers valuable and unprecedented research data.
“Collecting blood from women who have not had breast cancer provides an opportunity for these donors to give a unique gift to science,” said Dr. Susan Clare, a co-principal investigator of the tissue bank and an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the IU School of Medicine. “Even though these donors will not benefit directly from their donation of blood, they are providing an invaluable resource to enable research that will benefit generations to come.”
To participate in the blood draw, individuals must be female and at least 18 years old.