The DNA Databank has three major components. The first is a repository of DNA samples (extracted from discarded blood samples) that are coded solely by a Research Unique Identifier (RUI) derived from the Medical Record Number (MRN) using a 'one-way hash function.' This is a computer algorithm that creates a transformation of each MRN such that the resulting RUI (which is in this instance is a 512 byte identifier) is unique, and has the property that it is not possible to infer or compute the MRN that generated it. The second component of the resource is the creation of a database known as the "Synthetic Derivative" which is a collection of de-identified information extracted from VUMC's electronic clinical information systems, indexed by the same one-way RUI used to track samples, and with content changed by deletion or permutation of all identifiers contained within each record. The third component of the resource is a set of information retrieval interfaces for investigators that enable investigators meeting protocol approval criteria and other user agreement requirements to receive protocol-specific sets of data derived from DNA samples and from the Synthetic Derivative.

Primary Contact: Dr. Dan Masys