In a major initiative to enhance healthcare and research in the country, preparations are underway to open a Qatar Tissue Bank and it will initially focus on common types of cancer.
At the Qatar Tissue Bank, sample tissues as well as biospecimens of patients with different types of cancer will be collected for research purpose and it will also contribute in developing precision medicine, said Dr Mohamed Ben Gashir, Consultant Pathologist, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), speaking on sidelines of the second annual Qatar Biobank Conference yesterday. The Qatar Tissue Bank will be established in collaboration with different stakeholders including the Ministry of Public Health, HMC and the Qatar Foundation.
“We are planning to establish a human tissue bank and its still in early stages, we are hoping to start it as soon as possible. It will be a base for any future research aimed to improve healthcare. It will contribute to improve healthcare at the national level in Qatar as well as at an international level,” said Dr Gashir.
“Initially, we are thinking of collecting samples more of patients with breast cancer and colon cancer. We are planning to make it as comprehensive as possible, so will take samples from the tumour, normal tissues as well as blood, urine and saliva samples. Also the findings and analysis will be more comprehensive,” Dr Mohamed Ben Gashir added.
The Qatar Tissue Bank will be complimenting the Qatar Biobank which is making vital health research possible by collecting samples and information on health and lifestyle from large number of the Qatari population.
Dr Gashir also made a presentation on ‘Importance of the Establishment of Human Tissue Bank in Qatar’ during a session about ‘The Importance of Human Disease Biobank,’ yesterday during the Qatar Biobank Conference.
“Qatar is well-placed to support academic and commercial research using human tissue. Research centers, professional groups, funders and industry should contribute to improve Qatar’s keenness in collecting and using tissues,” he said.
The session also included presentations by different international experts on ‘Tissue Bank and Digital Pathology,’ ‘Toronto Tissue Bank,’ ‘Biospecimen Sciences Program at University Health Network,’ and ‘Egypt National Liver Institute Biobank Project.’
The second Biobank Conference was held under the theme ‘The Impact of Biobanking on Precision Medicine Initiatives’, brought together top medical practitioners and researchers in biobanking, genomics and personalized medicine to discuss the field of biomedical science and the growing use of precision medicine to improve clinical outcomes.
