The Netherlands Heart Institute is launching the first Dutch Heart Tissue Bank (Hartenbank in Dutch). This is a central biobank in which heart tissue and medical data is stored and available for cardiovascular scientific research. A prospective donor program and a rapid autopsy procedure allows high-quality heart tissue combined with medical data, which will improve diagnostics and yield novel therapies for heart diseases.
Start-up phase of the Heart Tissue Bank
By registering for the Heart Tissue Bank, donors give their consent to perform section of the heart after passing away. The Heart Tissue Bank is now in a start-up phase, where people with a mutation in the phospholamban (PLN)-gene are invited to register. The informed consent forms can be requested via www.hartenbank.nl. At a later stage, patients with other heart diseases and healthy donors can also register for the Heart Tissue Bank.
How does it work? Click here.
Genetic heart disease PLN
A mutation in the PLN-gene can result in life threating heart muscle disease. Half of the PLN-carriers eventually develop serious heart-related complaints, such as heart failure of cardiac dysrhythmia. It is unclear why one person becomes ill and the other does not. There is currently no treatment that can cure PLN, which is why research is highly needed