Thank you for participating in the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank.

We are grateful to you and the 365,000 members who have volunteered to participate in the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank (KPRB).  Your contribution allows Kaiser Permanente scientists and their colleagues to make important health related discoveries.

I’m sometimes asked how blood samples drawn in KP’s eight regions* are transported and processed for scientific use.  Although our medical office buildings and hospitals are located across the country, all KPRB samples are shipped to a dedicated laboratory in Northern California.

Laboratory staff prepare for storage the approximately 400 samples that arrive every day at the lab.  After processing, samples are stored in a special freezer designed for storing banked blood samples.

The samples are tracked electronically so they can be easily accessed for approved research.  The video included in this newsletter describes the path of KPRB samples from the time a sample is donated to when a researcher uses it for scientific studies.

I look forward to providing you with additional information and background about the KPRB in future newsletters. Thank you again for your contribution.