Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center

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Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center

The world’s only repository of non-cancerous breast tissue. Join our mission—no diagnosis required. 🔬 The donors to this repository are volunteers.

Based in Indianapolis, we provide the samples researchers need to understand "normal" and cure breast cancer. The KTB is a repository bank of whole blood, DNA, plasma, serum and frozen human breast tissue. What sets the KTB apart from all other tissue and blood repositories is that the vast majority of our donors are without evidence of breast cancer. Each sample is annotated with detailed medical

information about the donor. Even though donors will not benefit directly from their donation, they are providing an invaluable resource to enable research to maximize its potential today and in generations to come.

08/04/2026

It’s August! You know what that means! If your birthday is this month, take a moment to complete your medical follow-up! Contact Alison at [email protected] or (317)274-2366 if you need assistance.

07/30/2026

Brain fog, joint pain, and fatigue after breast implants: Is it all connected? A landmark study is shedding new light on what might actually be happening inside the body.

For years, many women have reported symptoms they felt were linked to their breast implants, but biological answers were hard to come by. Now, researchers looking at the implant capsule (the natural scar tissue that forms around an implant) have discovered higher levels of bacterial biofilms and increased immune system activity in tissue from women experiencing these symptoms.

Discoveries like this are only possible because generous individuals choose to donate tissue. Their contributions allow scientists to study how body tissue responds to medical devices and immune shifts, bringing us closer to better patient care.

Take a look at the slides above to read the breakdown of this research, and follow our page for more scientific updates powered by donors like you.

07/28/2026

Genetic risk testing is revolutionizing breast cancer care—but for precision medicine to work, it has to work for everyone.

Right now, over 80% of the genetic data used to predict breast cancer risk comes from people of European ancestry. As genetic testing becomes a bigger part of personalized care, this lack of representation can make risk predictions less accurate for other populations.

A Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) is a powerful tool that estimates a person’s likelihood of developing breast cancer using thousands of genetic variants to help doctors recommend earlier screening. But for precision medicine to be truly precise, the research must represent all of us.

At the Komen Tissue Bank, we are working to change this. Through our participation in collaborative efforts like Confluence, we are helping build more representative genetic datasets so precision medicine works accurately for everyone.

Read the full New York Times article to learn more:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/science/polygenic-risk-scores-diversity.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zFA.4cq8.dR4C9ml9kt7g&smid=url-share

Help us spread the word: Share this post with your community to raise awareness about why diversity in health research saves lives!

07/27/2026

The future of cancer research starts with the next generation of researchers.

This summer, three current KTB interns and one former KTB intern shared their work at the IMPRS Research Symposium, presenting projects that addressed a wide range of topics from financial sustainability and community engagement to participant recruitment and breast cancer therapeutics.

These presentations reflect the curiosity, dedication, and collaborative spirit that make research so impactful.

Please join us in congratulating:
• Suleman Shahid
• Meg Baxter
• Mykal Ammons
• Jacob Kurlander (former KTB intern)

We're grateful for the passion each of these students has brought to their work and proud to have been part of their research experience. Congratulations on an outstanding job!

Hey July birthdays! It’s your turn to help us help others by completing your medical follow-up! Contact Alison at alisni...

07/21/2026

Hey July birthdays! It’s your turn to help us help others by completing your medical follow-up! Contact Alison at [email protected] or (317)274-2366 if you need assistance.

07/16/2026

Scientists don't just need to study the disease. To find a cure, they actually need to study the healthy.

This donor’s profound dedication to education and awareness shines beautifully through their words. By stepping up to become a tissue donor, they didn't just support the cause—they actively provided the foundation for future medical breakthroughs.

A lot of people don't realize how the Komen Tissue Bank works. We are a specialized biobank that collects healthy tissue samples and provides them to researchers all over the globe. Why? Because researchers cannot fully understand breast cancer cells unless they have a normal, healthy baseline to compare them to.

That means everyday individuals who have never had cancer hold the literal key to unlocking new discoveries. You don't need a medical degree or a diagnosis to change the future of medicine; you just need the willingness to share a piece of your story.

Thank you to our phenomenal donors, selfless volunteers, and dedicated staff who bring these monumental days to life.

07/14/2026

A little office humor for your feed! Our team works incredibly hard to stay in touch with our donors for critical, long-term breast cancer research.

For those who might be new to our page: The Komen Tissue Bank collects tissue from healthy volunteers to help scientists study the causes of breast cancer.

If you have children, grandchildren, or friends who are passionate about science and medical research, tag them below or share this video with them! We'd love to introduce the next generation to the power of tissue donation. 💗

07/13/2026

Before working with the Komen Tissue Bank, many of us had never heard of healthy breast tissue donation for research.

Now we can't believe more people don't know about it.

Researchers do not only study breast cancer. They also study healthy breast tissue to better understand how breast cancer begins. That research is helping advance prevention, risk prediction, and earlier detection.

The Komen Tissue Bank exists to make healthy breast tissue donation for research possible.

If this post taught you something new, there is a good chance someone you know has never heard of it either.

❤️ Who in your life would be surprised to learn this? Tag them or share this post so more people discover this important part of breast cancer research.

07/09/2026

What can healthy breast tissue teach us about breast cancer? Quite a lot.

Thanks to donated tissue samples, researchers were able to investigate what happens inside breast cells years before cancer develops. Their work revealed that inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations can change how cells behave and communicate, even in tissue that appears healthy. Researchers also found evidence that some genetic changes associated with breast cancer may not be enough to cause cancer on their own.

Discoveries like these help scientists better understand the earliest steps of breast cancer development and could help guide future prevention and early detection efforts.

We often talk about the importance of research, but studies like this remind us that every scientific breakthrough begins with people who choose to participate.

After reading this post, tell us: What did you learn that you didn't know before?

07/08/2026

One phrase, four different ways! The team wanted to have a little fun with this voice acting trend, but behind the laughs is a message of deep impact.

Normal tissue donations help researchers understand how breast cancer starts—but a single donation is just the beginning. The ongoing value happens during routine medical follow-ups. Because this annual update is just a short questionnaire, donors can easily transform a single sample into a lifetime of vital data for scientists fighting for a cure with minimal effort.

Watch until the end to see the favorite take, and let us know which one was the most enjoyable.

Address

550 N University Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN
46202

Telephone

+13172742366

Website

http://www.komentissuebank.iu.edu/

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