The NIH is interested in making maximal use of this unique biospecimen resource, rich with clinical and genomic information. An access system including mechanisms for requesting samples is under development. Except for the fibroblast and lymphoblastoid cell lines, biospecimens are of limited quantity and are non-renewable. Potential uses that are comprehensive (genomic vs. single gene or small gene networks, proteomic vs. single proteins or small networks of proteins, etc.) and complementary to existing gene expression and variation data, are preferred. Scientific questions that are equally well addressed using other sample sets will probably not be suitable, while those that take full advantage of the unique aspects of GTEx, such as the multiple tissues from each donor and the gene expression information, are particularly sought. All data resulting from analysis of GTEx samples must be made widely available to the scientific community. In addition to scientific review, all proposals to use GTEx samples would also go through a Biospecimen Access Committee (currently being formed).
