Even after people passed away, they can help to improve the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. They can do this through the NLHI-Hartenbank, where heart tissue is stored. The NLHI-Hartenbank is a central biobank that collects and stores heart tissue from deceased donors for scientific research. Using this heart tissue, researchers are investigating exactly how a healthy heart works and what goes wrong in various heart conditions. This enables us to diagnose diseases earlier and/or more accurately, and to develop better treatments. Researchers from all over the world can make use of the NLHI-Hartenbank.
The NLHI-Hartenbank and LMNA
Heart tissue from the NLHI-Hartenbank can also help to investigate LMNA-related diseases and, hopefully, find a cure for them in the future. This requires donors with LMNA-related diseases.
Who can take part?
If you are aged 18 or over and live in the Netherlands, you can sign up. Both people with a healthy heart and those with heart disease can register. More informatie you can find on their website: www.hartenbank.nl.