Current and former Department of Energy workers were recruited for the Beryllium BioBank over a 36-month period by five participating clinical centers.
The participants in this program are all volunteers and have given their written consent to participate. Following informed consent, participants were asked to:
Donate blood to the repository for DNA extraction, plasma and cell pellet;
Complete a private interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain demographic information, medical symptoms and history, smoking history, occupational and exposure history;
Provide consent to review medical evaluation results and tests including physiologic and radiographic studies;
Provide consent to review DOE exposure and work history records including years of employment, job titles, and building locations; and if appropriate;
Provide permission to collect leftover bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, cells, and transbronchial biopsy lung tissue obtained for the purpose of a participant’s clinical evaluation;
If available, the BBR will accept leftover tissues specimens from autopsy, open lung biopsy, lymph nodes, and skin biopsy.
At the completion of the collection period, all data and biological specimens were transferred to the National Jewish Health BioRepository who will manage inquiries and access for future investigators who have approved study proposals.
For more detailed descriptions and processes, please view the Beryllium BioBank Protocol.
