Health Precincts Biobank

The Health Precincts Biobank is a collaborative initiative between UNSW Sydney, the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD), and NSW Health Pathology, that securely collects and stores biological samples such as blood, saliva, tissue, and urine from patients receiving care at several hospitals in Sydney. These samples, along with de-identified health information, are used to support ethically approved medical research and education. Participation is voluntary and integrated into routine care, with samples collected during standard procedures. All personal identifiers are removed to ensure privacy, and participants can withdraw at any time.

By contributing to the Biobank, patients help researchers develop better treatments, improve early detection, and understand how diseases affect different people; this research plays a vital role in advancing medical knowledge and improving healthcare outcomes across the community.

Participation in all aspects of the Health Precincts Biobank is voluntary. You can say no to participation, and if you choose to participate you can withdraw your consent at any time if you change your mind. If you withdraw your consent, your samples and personal health information held by the Health Precincts Biobank will be destroyed. It will not be possible to remove materials from the Health Precincts Biobank that have already been used for research.

Choosing not to consent to the Health Precincts Biobank will not have any impact on your current and future medical treatment or your dealings with Medicare Australia. 

If you wish to withdraw your samples and data from the Health Precincts Biobank please contact us by email HealthPrecinctsBiobank@unsw.edu.au or phone (02) 9065 5665

People being investigated for a range of health issues at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Royal Hospital for Women, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, St George Hospital, St George Private Hospital and the Sutherland Hospital may be offered the opportunity to consent to the Health Precincts Biobank. 

One or more of the following biological specimens will be collected from patients who provide written consent: tissue, blood, urine, fluid, saliva and/or mouth swab samples, along with accompanying personal and health information including non-identifiable scans.

To be eligible to participate, you must be 15 years or older, and attending a participating hospital. You will be required to understand and sign a consent form or have a guardian/carer sign it on your behalf.

Participation in the Health Precincts Biobank is incorporated into your routine medical care. For example, if you consent you may also be asked to provide a blood sample that can be collected during a routine blood test. If you are not due a blood test, you may be asked to provide a saliva sample or a small swab from inside your cheek. In some cases, urine and fluid samples are also collected. Once your procedure and diagnosis are completed, a pathologist will be able to reserve a small sample of any tissue not required for diagnosis to be stored in the Health Precincts Biobank.

Medicare and PBS records provide helpful information about visits to health professionals, tests, and prescription medicines. This information is not always available through hospital records. This allows researchers to answer important questions about use of treatments and health services in the community, and to contribute to better patient care.

You can choose not to give the Health Precincts Biobank access to these records. This will not impact your medical care, your dealings with Medicare Australia, or your ability to donate tissue to the biobank.

Research is never conducted using information that names individuals. Your samples and data will be given a unique code and your name and other identifying information will be removed to ensure your privacy is maintained. 

Once you have consented to the Health Precincts Biobank, you will not usually be contacted again and your signed consent form or a record of your participation is kept securely. If you are approached in the future to consent to the Health Precincts Biobank, simply tell your doctor or nurse that you have already consented. There is no problem with re-consenting to the Health Precincts Biobank at a later date.

The Health Precincts Biobank consent form will ask whether you give permission for access to extra information about your medical history such as your hospital medical records, and other health data collections of your past and future health. This information, paired with your samples will be deidentified prior to distribution to help researchers answer a wide range of research questions.

The samples and data in the Health Precincts Biobank can be kept indefinitely or until requested for ethically approved research.

Your samples and data will be stored within Biospecimen Services at UNSW Sydney. Your name and identifying information will be removed to protect your privacy when samples and/or data are given to researchers.
Samples and data will be used for research and education purposes. Only researchers with projects that have been approved by a Human Research Ethics Committee can apply to access these samples and data.
Research will examine causes of disease, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and genetics. Education will involve teaching medical, science and nursing students.