Informed consent and withdrawal:
Taking part in this study is voluntary. Leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of medical benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. All participants are free to withdraw their consent at any time.
Privacy protection:
- Name, Address, and other personal information: Your contact information will be used for mailing survey forms and result.
- Anonymization: An individual’s name is converted to an identification number that is unidentifiable to the individual.
- Security: Samples and information will be carefully protected in repositories by a personal information manager.
Laboratory data and analysis:
- Notification of laboratory and survey results: All laboratory and survey results will be returned in approximately 4 months.
- Announcement of research results: Project results will be announced in a statistical manner without indicating information.
- Incidental findings: Incidental findings are data or events acquired unintentionally and are independent of main research objectives. These findings may be disclosed to the individual upon request after careful review by an Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank specialized committee.
Criteria for notification of genetic information:
- The information is precise and credible to the individual’s health status.
- The information provides important facts relating to health status.
- Notification of the information is unlikely to cause significant obstacles to the proper conduct of this research.
- An effective action exists in response to information that is believed to significantly impact the life and health of the individual.
Based on the above criteria, genetic information will be reviewed by the Review Board on Notification of Genetic Information.
Resources for extramural research institutions:
Resources (i.e., biological samples and medical records) may be shared with extramural research institutions pending authorization by the Board to Review Allocation of Samples and Information organized by Iwate Medical University and Tohoku University.
In this event, rest assured that the privacy of all participants will be strictly protected.
Intellectual property, conflicts of interest, and expenses:
- Intellectual property rights are vested in the institution that performed the research.
- Medical examinations that Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank is responsible for will be at no expense to you.
