For many people, the idea of donating blood or tissue for medical research feels unfamiliar — even intimidating. It’s completely normal to have questions. After all, volunteering your time and your sample is a meaningful decision, and you want to know it’s safe, ethical, and worthwhile.
To help clear up common misunderstandings, we’ve put together a guide separating myths from facts — so you can feel confident and informed before joining the registry.
Fact: Most donations involve minimal discomfort — often no more than a standard blood test.
For many volunteers, the biggest fear is the needle. But the vast majority of donations are quick and performed by trained professionals who carry out sample collection every day. If you’ve ever had blood drawn at your GP surgery, you already know what to expect.
Fact: Your personal data is strictly protected and handled with full regulatory oversight.
Confidentiality is central to everything we do. Your name and personal details are never shared with researchers or clients. Samples are labelled with coded identifiers, and your information is stored securely in compliance with ethical and legal standards.
Joining a research volunteer registry does not make your health information public — nor does it impact your medical care. Your privacy is respected at every stage.
Fact: Healthy donors are just as important as disease donors.
Healthy research volunteers provide the “baseline” — the standard against which researchers compare disease-specific responses. Without healthy samples, scientists cannot accurately measure how conditions like atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, , or asthma behave differently in the body.
Disease donors, meanwhile, help researchers understand real biological changes caused by inflammation. Together, these two groups enable drug discovery to progress faster and more accurately.
Whether you’re healthy or living with a condition, your contribution matters.
Fact: Even a single donation can support multiple research studies.
Many volunteers are surprised to learn how far one sample can go. A small amount of blood or tissue can fuel:
Your donation doesn’t just sit in a freezer — it actively supports the development of treatments aimed at improving the lives of thousands of patients worldwide.
Fact: Most appointments are quick and designed to fit around your schedule.
Depending on the type of sample, visits may take just 15–30 minutes. For tissue donations linked to existing medical procedures, there’s no extra appointment at all. We work with your availability to make the process easy, efficient, and stress-free.
Fact: Donation is carried out under rigorous clinical oversight with full consent.
All donations are performed by trained staff in a controlled environment. You’ll be informed about the process in advance, given time to ask questions, and supported throughout the appointment. You are always free to withdraw from the registry at any time — participation is completely voluntary.
Your safety is our priority.
Fact: You don’t need any scientific knowledge — just a willingness to help.
Many donors believe they need a scientific background or detailed understanding of research to participate. That isn’t the case. The role of a donor is simple: willingly provide a sample, and we handle the rest. Your contribution supports researchers worldwide who are working to discover safer, more effective treatments.
Human tissue samples are essential for developing medicines that are accurate, clinically relevant, and reflective of real patient biology. By joining the ReproRegistry, you help accelerate research into inflammatory diseases and support breakthroughs that can improve healthcare for future generations.
Whether you’re healthy, living with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, Crohn’s, colitis or another inflammatory condition, your donation makes an impact.
If you’ve been curious about donating — but unsure what to expect — we hope this clears things up.