| 1 | Cell Press | What to Expect if You Participate in iPSC Research | 2262 | 21 | 2 | 56.5 | positive | 3:31 | Recently there have been major technological breakthroughs that allow us to take an adult cell such as a skin or hair cell, turn it back into a stem cell and then from that stem cell differentiate it into another type of cell such as heart, eye or brain cells. These are called induced pluripotent stem cells. Essentially this means that we can study the cells in your brain or eye without needing to actually take a sample from your brain or eye. The hope of this research is that if we can understand what is happening in these cells, then we may be able to come up with better ways to treat disease. The biggest downside from participating is that you will be left with a small scar about the size of a large freckle. Another major downside is that you will not directly benefit from this work. It is likely to be the next generation who have the most to gain from your contribution. Before agreeing to participate it is important to understand a few things about your sample. Firstly, the stem cells that we will make are different to other cells in your body. They can survive indefinitely, that is they can continue to divide and grow where other cells in your body, such as the original skin cell, would have stopped. Also, these stem cells can, under the right conditions, be turned into any other type of cell in your body. It is important to realize that your sample will not be injected into any other person and that the stem cells made from your sample will not be used for research involving reproductive cloning, that is to make another human being by creating an artificial embryo. Sometimes to test things, such as confirmed that the stem cells we have made are actually stem cells, we may inject these into animals such as rats or mice. As new breakthroughs occur, it is also possible that your sample could be used in an experiment that is not envisaged at the moment. Any new research would require ethics approval. Your sample will be used to help advance the development of new treatments and tests for disease. This research could lead to cell replacement therapy, where disease, tissue or cells are replaced with new ones. This work could involve pharmaceutical companies, though they would also need appropriate ethics and regulatory approval. After participating, you can withdraw from this project without any consequence on your medical care. If you withdraw, all of your samples can be destroyed. However, we can generally only stop future research, not destroy work already completed. Finally, there are different levels of participation possible. Occasionally, we are approached by other researchers who are doing similar work. Would you be happy if we shared your sample with them? They would need ethics approval for this research and they would not know any of your personal details. After today, your sample will just have a number on it and it will only be the lead researchers who can unlock this code and link your sample directly back to you. Secondly, one of the ways that your sample can add value after its collection is to use it for additional studies. Would you be happy if your samples are used for additional research? For example, if you have participated in eye research as well as a brain study, then your cells could be used for both eye and brain disease modeling. There are specific tick boxes on your consent form where you need to indicate if you are happy for this to occur. Please take your time to read through the information sheet and consent form and please feel free to ask any questions. | ↗ |