A lecture by Professor Dr. Konstantinos Delta on the topic "The Cypriot Biobank and the DNA of Cypriots" was held on Wednesday, November 16, in the event hall of Paralimni Town Hall.
In the lecture, the CY-Biobank program was presented, which concerns the creation of a Biobank for the Cypriot population, while volunteers were registered.
The lecture was held in the presence of the Mayor of Paralimni, Mr. Theodoros Pyrillis, who praised the efforts of the research programs implemented with the aim of improving the process of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. He did not fail to invite the public to register for sampling, emphasizing, in fact, that he would also register as a volunteer.
Sampling in Paralimni on November 23rd and 24th
The sampling will take place on November 23 and 24, 2022 between the hours of 08:30 and 12:30 at the Paralimni Town Hall. During the specific two days, it will be possible to register and arrange appointments for interested volunteers. Voluntary participation involves answering a questionnaire and taking some blood and urine to be used in research studies.
The CY-Biobank project
The CY-Biobank project is funded by the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus and the University of Cyprus. The project concerns each individual Cypriot but also the Cypriot population as a whole. The main goal is the detailed mapping of the DNA of Cypriots and taking measures to improve our health.
With the participation of thousands of volunteer donors from all over the island, information about your health will be collected and archived, along with samples of biological material, including DNA. These files and samples will be studied, by various researchers, in order to identify specificities and mutations of the DNA of Cypriots, which are responsible for various genetic diseases, rare or common, so that in the future the further diagnosis of each individual patient will be facilitated. Finally, the project aims to improve the prognosis and prevention of various diseases, to promote research, but also to discover new medicines.
What is Biobank?
Biobanks are organized collections of medical records and information accompanied by volunteers' biological material such as DNA, serum, plasma, urine, and more to support precision medicine research. That is, they are infrastructures aimed at supporting research studies for the production of new knowledge that will help each patient individually (personalized medicine), with the development of innovative drugs and an improved process of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.
Why is participation important?
In order to achieve the intended progress in our health and at the same time to upgrade our quality of life, our participation as voluntary donors in this project is useful. The donation of biological material from a significant part of the Cypriot population is a basic condition in order to collect sufficient samples which will give us answers about the various genetic diseases of our people, after identifying the peculiarities and mutations of the Cypriot DNA.
What does the registration and sampling process involve?
Recording and sampling will take approximately 45-50 minutes. Upon your arrival at Biobank, our experienced nursing staff, after informing you and answering your questions about the program, will let you fill in the special consent form (approved by the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee), and will ask you for some additional demographic information. Next, a painless examination will be carried out that includes various measurements (blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference) and you will give some blood and urine. You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire about your personal and family history.
Is there a personal benefit to your participation?
The results of some useful blood tests will be shared with you. By signing the consent form, you can choose to be notified of new results, if and when they arise in the future, which will be useful for your health, or the health of your children. If you are healthy, data may emerge that will be useful for preventive purposes. If you are a patient, it is possible that the genetic or other etiology for your disease will be found which will help in better treatment. Also, the correct diagnosis may help prevent your children.
How is your personal data protected?
The collection of data and biological material only takes place if you fill in the consent form, as approved by the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee and in full compliance with the European Personal Data Protection Regulation. All data and biological material is stored coded and encrypted in such a way as to preserve your anonymity as a volunteer donor. The electronic storage of encrypted data is protected by special modern software, which is operated by specially trained employees of the IT Infrastructure Service of the University of Cyprus. The University of Cyprus and Biobank take every possible measure to eliminate any risk of unauthorized access to this data and implement best practices for their security. The possible future use of the biological material or the electronic file by researchers is done after a special request and approval by bioethics committees. In the event that this use is approved, then the data is transferred anonymously and coded to the researchers concerned exclusively for conducting studies aimed at the general good of man and the advancement of science and health.
How can you participate?
If you meet the participation criteria stated in the brochure, you can contact the Biobank employee to arrange an appointment by calling 22-892815, or by sending a similar message to biobank@ucy.ac.cy, or by completing the electronic participation form on our website, at the link https://biobank.cy/redcap_el/