Email: DLMPDONOR@mayo.edu

Phone: 507-284-5357

About us

The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) operates a biospecimen donor program on the Rochester, Minnesota campus to obtain blood and other samples, often called specimens or biospecimens, from healthy subjects. We use such samples for clinical laboratory test development and quality control.

Mission

Our mission is to help laboratories obtain qualified samples on the Rochester campus for diagnostic test advancement and routine patient testing. Laboratory testing plays a vital role in clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

Become a donor

Without our donors, Mayo Clinic Laboratories could not implement diagnostic tests that our patients need.

To sign up to be a potential donor, email the program at DLMPDONOR@mayo.edu. Signing up does not commit you to anything, but it enters your information into a donor pool for future studies.

Ideal biospecimen donors:

• Generally have good health with few chronic conditions.
• Are willing to provide fasting and nonfasting blood or urine specimens.
• Can commit to scheduled appointment times on the Rochester campus.
• Have not made whole blood or red cell donations to a blood bank in the eight weeks before donating a biospecimen to this program.

The donor experience

We'll ask you to join an ongoing donor pool by submitting an enrollment form. We use details from the form to match you to our specimen needs. The form includes a consent section that describes how the specimens and associated clinical information will be used.

We provide payment for each collection, and you may choose the studies for which you want to provide specimens.

Once you are enrolled, we'll email you when new studies become available. How often we contact you and collect specimens depends on your health history and the preferences you've indicated on the enrollment form.

 

How does the program work?

We recruit and schedule most donations through email. However, there are occasions when we mail letters or make phone calls to you. To protect your identity, specimen collection appointments are not scheduled through clinical applications, unlike other patient appointments. Your specimen will be de-identified at the time of collection, which means that no one will be able to associate a given specimen with you.

• Appointments for this program will not appear in Mayo Clinic patient appointment guides and are not visible in the Mayo Clinic online services patient portal, because they are scheduled using a de-identified donor number rather than a Mayo Clinic number to ensure privacy.
• You will receive a DLMP Biospecimen Donor Card with appointment information and pre-collection instructions, if applicable. This is a full-size sheet (8.5-by-11-inch sheet), not an index card. Please read instructions carefully and contact us if you need to reschedule or cancel.
• You will be deferred from blood draws if you have given a unit of blood or its equivalent of 550 milliliters over eight weeks. Please track all whole blood draws you have had for this program, as well as for any blood banks or Red Cross, and any other research or lab draws that are not part of your clinical care.
• It is important that you report only to your assigned location, which will be indicated on your donor card. Some collections are limited to specific Laboratory Services collection desks due to restrictions in transport time, collection containers or other issues. If you would like to change collection locations, please contact us before your appointment.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I enroll to be a donor for the Biospecimen Program?

  Email the Biospecimen Program at DLMPDONOR@mayo.edu.

  Upon enrollment, donors choose which specimens they are willing to donate. Specimens include blood, random urine or timed urine. The donor's preferred specimen(s) and written consent are documented in the DLMP Biospecimen Request Registry.

  Each study has unique clinical requirements, and donors may qualify for some studies but not others. Biostatistics staff screens a list of potential donors to determine who is eligible for the study based on clinical history. DLMP Quality Management Services (QMS) personnel also screen prospective donors via telephone or email.

• Who can participate as donors?

  Anyone may become a donor so long as they have a valid medical registration number (MRN) and social security number (for payment). Call 507-284-5357 for more information.

• How are donors paid?

  Donors will receive payment through the Mayo Clinic Disbursements office.

• How much are donors paid for each collection?

  Donors are paid $25 for blood donations up to eight tubes, and $30 for nine or more tubes. The rate for saliva samples and random urine samples is $20. The rate for random stool is $40, and the rate for 24-hour urine collections is $45. These rates are also documented in recruitment emails for each study.

  Specimen type	Rate
  Blood: 1-8 tubes	$25
  Blood: 9 or more tubes	$30
  Random urine	$20
  24-hour urine	$45
  Random stool	$40
  Saliva, buccal	$20

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