Join RI Blood Center in helping NIH build historic, diverse, health database

Rhode Island Blood Center Joins Historic Research Program Focused on Gathering Diverse Health Data from One Million People in the U.S.

The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program aims to build one of the most diverse health databases in history to accelerate research and improve health

The Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC) will be participating in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, a historical effort to build one of the largest, most diverse health databases. The program aims to gather a broad range of  health data from at least 1 million individuals in the U.S. RIBC’s team joins a group of blood centers across the country participating in the program, including San Diego Blood Bank and Suncoast Blood Centers.

The program looks to achieve equitable representation in biomedical research and data, improve the health of future generations and provide participants the opportunity to learn about their health. Researchers will use the data gathered to learn how biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health, which may one day help them find ways to better treat and prevent disease.

“The All of Us Research Program is making remarkable strides in making biomedical research data more representative and inclusive and we are honored to be joining this historic effort,” said Bruce Sachais, Chief Medical Officer at RIBC. “We’re encouraging all of our community members to join other blood donors across the country and take part in this groundbreaking program. When donors participate, they are making a big contribution to important scientific research.”

More than 763,000 people have enrolled in the All of Us Research Program. More than 8,900 registered researchers across the country are using the data collected thus far. 

All of Us is part of a new era in which researchers, health care providers, technology experts, community partners, and the public share  a common goal  to develop individualized health care. RIBC’s blood donors who decide to participate will receive $25 after providing a blood sample, may be eligible to receive a Fitbit as part of the WEAR study*, and may choose to receive DNA results such as genetic ancestry, traits and health-related results. 

To learn more and to join the All of Us Research Program, visit JoinAllofUs.org/nybce.

Rhode Island Blood Center’s work with the All of Us Research Program is funded by a subaward from Scripps Research, which is funded by National Institutes of Health award: OT2OD035580.

*Eligibility requirements apply. Please note that eligible participants are invited at random. The All of Us Research Program will try its best to ensure that the group of participants matches the current diversity of the program’s participants.

RHODE ISLAND BLOOD CENTER (RIBC) was founded in 1979 as a nonprofit community blood center. For over 40 years, RIBC has been the primary supplier of blood and blood products to patients being cared for in hospitals throughout Rhode Island and in neighboring states. Our mission is to help save lives by ensuring a safe and plentiful blood supply to the patients and hospitals we serve. RIBC is also part of the National Marrow Donor Program and collects stem cells for transplant at its Providence location. RIBC provides therapeutic treatments for patients in local hospitals. Our state-of-the-art laboratory performs donor testing for over 400,000 donations per year. RIBC is also involved in various local and national research programs to improve all aspects of the blood supply. RIBC is a division of New York Blood Center, Inc. (a family of operating Divisions known as New York Blood Center Enterprises). For more information, visit ribc.org.