Written by Irene Protschky
Even after Halloween, things stay bloody at Biomol - with our new partner Research Donors. The UK-based company specializes in the distribution of fresh, highly characterized human blood products such as whole blood, plasma, serum, buffy coats, PBMCs and leukopaks. In doing so, Research Donors sets high ethical standards and offers many customization options for your research. Find out what's behind the company, how sample collection and processing work, and what types of products are available in Research Donors' lineup in our new blog post!
These topics await you:
1) The Foundation of the Company Research Donors
3) This is how the donation process works
4) Sample Processing in the Company's own Laboratory and Delivery Routes
5) What adjustments can be made?
6) What does the product range look like?
Subscribe to the free Biomol newsletter and never miss a blog article again!
The Foundation of the Company Research Donors
First, let's take a quick look back at 2018: a major breakthrough in cancer treatment occurs with the approval of the first two CAR-T cell therapies in Europe [1]. In this type of immunotherapy, T cells are taken from a diseased person or a suitable donor and genetically modified to express the so-called chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). When the CAR-T cells are re-injected into the patient, these surface proteins enable the immune system to recognize tumor-specific antigens and thereby degrade the cancer cells [2]. This approach has been particularly effective in patients who have been unsuccessful with conventional treatments, resulting in more than twice the response rates of historical controls in one of the approved therapies. The other therapy resulted in complete remission in more than 80% of patients. It is therefore no wonder that the number of medical studies on CAR-T cell therapies is continuously increasing [3].
However, cell-based therapeutic approaches are on the rise not only in cancer research, but also for infections or metabolic and autoimmune diseases [4]. The starting point for the development of these therapies are often cells from human blood, and specific properties of the blood samples often play an important role: For example, a novel therapy must be tested on a diverse donor pool to guarantee quality. Furthermore, in case of a therapy based on donated blood, the type of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) on the surface of the immune cells must be matched to that of the treated individual [2, 5]. In response to the increasing need for highly characterized blood products in research, Research Donors was founded in 2018. Since then, the company has steadily expanded and built a customer base of over 200 clients from leading industrial and academic research. In 2022, the company joined the Nordic Biosite Group, an association of European distributors for research and diagnostics, of which Biomol is also a member [6].
Who are the blood donors?
The work of Research Donors is made possible by the dedication of healthy, voluntary blood donors (see Fig.): to date, the company has been able to recruit 2500 donors from the UK, who support research through their commitment. To be considered as a donor, a person must be between 18 and 66 years old, weigh more than 50 kg, and have a normal heart rate and blood pressure. Special criteria for Research Donors: a consent form is obtained from all donors in which they agree to genetic and commercial research with the blood samples. In contrast to blood donations at other organizations, where genetic testing of the blood is often not covered by the consent form, subsequent sequencing of genome segments for e.g. HLA typing is thus no longer a legal difficulty.
In the case of indications of various health restrictions or the use of medication, alcohol or drugs prior to blood donation, the donation will be canceled in order to ensure the safety of the blood donors and the high-quality standard of the blood samples. The effort for the donors is worth it, because the blood donation itself as well as any travel expenses incurred are reimbursed by Research Donors.
The donor pool of Research Donors is made up of people from different ethnic groups, which are divided more or less equally between men and women. However, the age distribution is not as even: Blood donation at Research Donors is especially popular among students, which is reflected in a high number of primarily young blood donors.
This is how the donation process works
Blood collection takes place at Research Donors' headquarters in London: The company's modern clinic and laboratory are located in a bustling area near Canary Wharf, an up-and-coming industrial district in the center of the city. Appointments for blood collection can be booked by donors themselves, after which they are cared for by qualified staff during the blood collection process (see image above). Safety during the process is very important to Research Donors and is characterized by ISO accreditation, HTA licensing and participation in the "Quality Assessment Scheme" of UK NEQAS (United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service), a charity association of external quality assessment laboratories [7]. Often, a traditional blood donation is performed, with a maximum of 490 mL of blood collected via vascular access. Blood collections must be three months apart for men, and at least four months apart for women.
In addition, Research Donors also offers what is known as leukapheresis: In this dialysis-like blood washing procedure, white blood cells instead of harmful substances are filtered out of the blood, while other components are returned to the body. Donors undergoing this procedure must be patient: For the leukocyte donation, one access is placed on each arm, which prevents bending the elbow (see Fig. on the left). In addition, the entire process takes about 3-4 hours - fortunately, you can watch your favorite TV show during this time. [8]. The advantage is that the procedure achieves a very high concentration of white blood cells and, unlike conventional blood collection, the donation can be repeated after only 6 weeks.
Sample Processing in the Company's own Laboratory and Delivery Routes
The samples are processed in the laboratory on site directly after the blood donation. At this step, standard tests are performed, including blood count and cell count analysis, as well as tests for HIV/AIDS, syphilis, and hepatitis types B and C. Furthermore, the sample is anonymized, but remains traceable to the donor. Afterwards, the sample can be separated into its individual components easily and without the risk of contamination, thanks to the use of a sophisticated blood bag during blood donation, which is seamlessly connected to further collection containers. Also in the laboratory Research Donors focuses on quality and complements its qualifications with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) to operate as a tissue bank, which guarantees that human samples are handled in accordance to regulations.
Research Donors' blood products are available either in fresh or fresh (overnight) frozen form. In addition, there is an extensive stock of frozen products (so-called Frozen Stocks). Time is of the essence when shipping fresh products: Research Donors uses a special UPS service designed for medical samples to deliver the products to clients by 12:00 noon the day after collection. At this step, you can choose between transport at room temperature or refrigerated delivery. When ordering frozen products or stock, samples will arrive to you on dry ice. For more information on the distinction between fresh frozen and Frozen Stock products, please visit our blood products category. In addition, you can find a real-time overview of all Frozen Sock products on the Research Donors website:
Frozen Stocks by Research Donors
What adjustments can be made?
A major advantage of ordering through Research Donors, compared to other blood donation services, is the comprehensive information you receive about your sample and about the donor. This includes information on age, gender, blood type and ethnicity. If requested, Research Donors also offers HLA typing. Conversely, this also means that you can request targeted blood samples from a specific person. There is even the option of Donor Recall: if you notice that you need more samples from the same donor for your experiments, Research Donors can trace the person and ask for another blood sample. But that's not all, as Research Donors can accommodate many other requests: From choosing an anticoagulant, to processing a blood sample according to a specific protocol, to instructing the donor to, for example, take an iron supplement a week before blood is drawn - Research Donors tries to make your research as easy as possible.
While the focus of the company is clearly on blood samples from healthy donors, in individual cases blood products from donors with pre-existing conditions could also be arranged. It is worth asking us!
What does the product range look like?
Most of the products of Research Donors are available fresh and frozen as described in the section "Sample Processing". For frozen stocks, the indicated cell count indicates the minimum content of cells in the sample after thawing.
Leukopaks: 
Leukopaks obtained by leukapheresis represent the frontrunners of the Research Donors range and typically contain over 10 billion nucleated cells. They are perfectly adaptable to your project by selection of HLA type, volume, age and delivery temperature and are delivered fresh to you. The high cell count makes the Leukopaks excellent for working on cell-based therapies (CAR-T), toxicology studies and high-throughput screening studies in pharmacological research.
Find Leukopaks by Research Donors: Leukopaks by Research Donors
Whole blood: Whole blood samples represent the most cost-effective and flexible product category: You can work with your own protocols and still benefit from customization of blood donor, anticoagulant and delivery temperature. The company also offers researchers to provide their own anticoagulant to Research Donors if a specific substance is desired. Whole blood samples are typically shipped fresh only, but can be frozen upon request.
Find Whole blood by Research Donors: Whole Blood by Research Donors
Plasma and Serum: Plasma and serum samples also come with a choice of different volumes, formats, anticoagulants (plasma only), delivery temperature, and donor characteristics such as gender, age, and blood type. Delivery can be fresh or frozen. Both products provide information about the protein composition of the blood, such as levels of albumin or immunoglobulins (in serum excluding the clotting factors), nutrient and mineral concentrations, and levels of degradation products such as creatinine or troponin [9]. Therefore, they are interesting for many bioanalytical questions, but especially for metabolomics research.
Find Plasma by Research Donors: Plasma by Research Donors
Find Serum by Research Donors: Serum by Research Donors
Buffy Coat: "Buffy Coat" describes the layer that can be seen between the plasma layer and the erythrocytes after centrifugation of a blood sample. In this area of the sample, there is a higher concentration of leukocytes and platelets, which allows you to do research on coagulation disorders or isolate PBMCs according to your own protocol [10]. Again, there are choices of volume, format, anticoagulant, delivery temperature, and donor gender, age, and blood type. Delivery is usually fresh and the day after blood collection.
Find Buffy Coats by Research Donors: Buffy Coats by Research Donors
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs): PBMCs are the cells of peripheral blood that have a single, round nucleus. These mainly include lymphocytes (70-90%), monocytes (10-20%) and a small proportion of dendritic cells (1-2%) [11]. Research Donors guarantees a processing time of less than five hours after blood collection for PBMCs to maintain optimal cell functionality. Unlike the buffy coat, PBMCs are centrifuged using a Ficoll density gradient, which removes granulocytes and platelets. The isolated cells from whole blood samples or leukopaks are frozen in CryoStor® CS10 cold preservation medium, which provides optimal protection of the cells at low temperatures. For your experiments, select the donor (including HLA type), cell number, volume, format and delivery temperature. Delivery can be made the day after blood collection, but there is also an extensive stock for PBMCs.
Find PBMCs by Research Donors: PBMCs by Research Donors
(Leukocyte-reduced) Erythrocytes: Red blood cell collection is also completely customized to your research: You choose the volume, format, anticoagulant, delivery temperature, as well as donor gender, age, and blood group. Delivery usually takes place the day following blood donation. Red blood cells are of particular interest for research into blood diseases such as malaria or sickle cell anemia. Reduction of leukocytes can exclude effects of the immune system or incompatibilities of HLA types.
Find Erythrocytes by Research Donors: Erythrocytes by Research Donors
Isolated Immune Cells: Recently, Research Donors has also launched another product category, the isolated immune cells. These cells are obtained by negative immuno-magnetic isolation from fresh leukopaks: The technique is based on the use of magnetic beads coated with specific antibodies that bind to all cells except the target cells. These can be easily removed with the help of a magnet and at the same time an effect of the beads on your experiments is excluded. Cells are frozen in CryoStor® CS10 immediately after isolation. Available for you are CD3+ (pan-T cell markers), CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as CD56+ natural killer cells, CD19+ B cells and CD14+ monocytes.
Find Isolated Cells by Research Donors: Isolated Cells by Research Donors
Tasted blood? The fresh products of Research Donors, the order form for specific requests, as well as a link to the Frozen Stocks of Research Donors can be found at our Blood Products category.
Sources
[1] Fachkreise-Redaktion des Krebsinformationsdienstes. CAR-T-Zell-Therapien in Europa zugelassen (30.08.2018). https://www.krebsinformationsdienst.de/fachkreise/nachrichten/2018/fk11-car-t-zell-therapie-krebs-zulassung.php; As of: 13.10.2022
[2] Lordick F, Platzbecker U, Büch E et al. Molekulare und zellbasierte Krebstherapie – Quo vadis? Onkologe 2019; 25: 61–67
[3] Michels A, Hartmann J, Buchholz CJ. Chimäre Antigenrezeptoren (CARs) in der Onkologie: eine Übersicht zu klinischer Anwendung und neuen Entwicklungen. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz 2020; 63: 1331–1340
[4] Fischbach MA, Bluestone JA, Lim WA. Cell-based therapeutics: the next pillar of medicine. Science translational medicine 2013; 5: 179ps7
[5] Bashor CJ, Hilton IB, Bandukwala H et al. Engineering the next generation of cell-based therapeutics. Nature reviews. Drug discovery 2022; 21: 655–675
[6] Research Donors LTD. About us. Im Internet: https://researchdonors.co.uk/about/; As of: 16.10.2022
[7] UK NEQAS. Learn more about UK NEQAS. Im Internet: https://ukneqas.org.uk/about-us/; As of: 16.10.2022
[8] Julia Dobke. Behandlungsablauf: Planung und Durchführung einer CAR-T-Zelltherapie (07.07.2021). https://www.gpoh.de/kinderkrebsinfo/content/patienten/behandlung/behandlungsmethoden/car_t_zelltherapie/behandlungsablauf/index_ger.html; As of: 16.10.2022
[9] Kardionet. Blutplasma und Blutserum: Der flüssige Bestandteil des Blutes (09.03.2021). https://www.kardionet.de/blutplasma-blutserum/; As of: 28.10.2022
[10] Akadeum Life Sciences. What is Buffy Coat in Blood? Buffy Coat Preparation and Buffy Coat Cell Extraction. https://www.akadeum.com/blog/what-is-buffy-coat/; As of: 17.10.2022
[11] Kleiveland, CR. The Impact of Food Bioactives on Health: in vitro and ex vivo models. Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells. Cham (CH); 2015
All images provided by Research Donors.