Project Summary
This service project will further develop the Freiburg CardioVascular BioBank (CVBB). Operating on a ‘broad consent’ model and in conjuction with the Freiburg ‘FREEZE’ centre for biobanking, the CVBB collects and processes patient tissue (excised during open heart surgery) which would otherwise be discarded. Established in 2017, the CVBB contains biological samples and associated medical data from currently >1180 patients. Benefitting from the close proximity of the labs and operating theatres, CVBB services include not only tissue preservation (freezing, fixation, embedding) and analysis (immuno-labelling, histology, automated scanning), but also live tissue processing and acute experiments (on isolated cells, cultures, live tissue slices). Live samples are used for electrophysiology, contractility, and Ca2+ assays. All live cell data obtained is added back to the CVBB, generating a unique resource for subsequent scientific analysis. Functional data is currently available for ~160 tissue donors. The CVBB thus serves both as a support structure for current CRC projects and as a resource for future scientific investigations where powerful search operations can be conducted, including functional parameters that one would not be able to assess once tissue is fixed or frozen.
