BJC, SLCH and Washington University Electronic Biobank

Welcome to the BJC , SLCH and Washington University School of Medicine Electronic BioBank (BJC-WEBB) research study.

This is a research study to create an electronic biorepository which will be known as the BJC, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine Electronic BioBank (BJC-WEBB). This BioBank will collect biological samples from as many people as possible who have received healthcare at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and/or Washington University School of Medicine.

A biological sample is something from the body (like blood for example) that contains DNA. Genes are the basic “instruction book”  for the cells that make up our bodies and are made out of DNA. Although the DNA of a person is more than 99% the same as the DNA of any other person, no two people have exactly the same DNA except identical twins. Differences in DNA are called genetic variation. Genetic variation explains some of the physical differences among people (like eye color or height), and partially explains why some people get diseases like cancer, diabetes, asthma, and depression, while others do not. Such diseases may also be affected by factors like diet, exercise, smoking, and pollution in the environment, which makes it hard to figure out which genes affect disease.