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Privacy & Opting Out

Photo by Robert A. Lisak
Amy M. and her son, Mitchell, who participated in an observational research study.

Leftover Blood and Tissue

If you are a patient at Yale, you can play an important role in improving health care. Participating in a clinical trial is one way to do this, but there are other ways you can help doctors and scientists learn about different diseases and how to treat them:

  • When information in your medical record is used to study diseases and the effect of treatments.
  • When leftover blood and body tissue that has been used for your diagnosis and treatment is saved and used for research.
  • When doctors use some of your leftover blood and body tissue for genetic studies. Genetic information can be helpful in determining which people are at risk for certain disorders, to individualize care, and to prevent diseases. Researchers may use some of your blood or tissue to map out parts or the complete set of human genes. They may also use certain cells from your tissue to create a cell line for future research. In a cell line, identical cells are grown in small amounts in the laboratory for use in research. Learn more here.

Privacy

We take every precaution to safeguard you and your medical information. Learn more here.

Opting Out of Research

There are three ways to opt out of clinical research at Yale. Learn more here.