Human Tendon Tissue Collection

Human Tendon Tissue Collection for In Vitro Models and Tissue Analysis

The goal of this study is to improve understanding of tendon health and disease by using surplus tendon tissue that is routinely removed during planned orthopaedic surgeries in adults. The main questions it aims to answer are:

- What can tendon tissue and tendon cells tell us about how healthy and diseased tendons function?

Participants will not undergo any extra procedures. Instead, researchers will use only tissue that is already being removed as part of normal surgical care and would otherwise be discarded.

Participants will:

• Be asked for permission (consent) before their surgery to donate any surplus tendon tissue.
• Have a small piece of tendon tissue (normally waste material) collected during their planned operation.
• Allow the research team to access some non-identifiable medical information (such as age, reason for surgery, and relevant medical history) to help interpret research findings.

What the researchers will do with the donated tissue:

• Isolate different types of human tendon cells.
• Build advanced laboratory cellular models to study how tendon diseases develop.
• Analyse whole tendon tissue sections to understand cell types, tissue organisation, and disease-related changes.

This study does not involve testing treatments, and it does not change any aspect of a participant's clinical care. Although there is no direct benefit to participants, the donated tissue may help researchers develop better ways to study tendon injuries and improve future treatment options for tendon disease.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Tendinopathy; Musculoskeletal Diseases or Conditions; Achilles Tendon Surgery; ACL Surgery

Detailed Description

This study aims to improve our understanding of how human tendons work, why they become injured, and how tendon diseases develop. Tendon problems-such as tendinopathy-are common and can cause long-lasting pain and loss of mobility. Scientists currently lack good laboratory models that accurately represent real human tendon tissue, which makes it harder to study these conditions or test new treatments.

During many types of planned orthopaedic surgery, small pieces of tendon tissue are routinely removed because they are no longer needed for the patient's care. Normally, this tissue would simply be thrown away. In this study, patients who are already having surgery are invited to donate this surplus tissue for research.

How the study works:

If a patient agrees to take part, the healthcare team will collect the leftover tendon tissue during their planned operation. There are no extra procedures, no changes to the surgery, and nothing additional that the patient needs to do.

After collection, the tissue is taken to research laboratories at Queen Mary University of London. There, scientists use it in two main ways:

1. Studying the tendon tissue itself:

   Researchers examine the structure and cells within the tendon to study how tendon cells are organised.

2. Growing tendon cells in the lab:

The donated tissue allows researchers to isolate living tendon cells. These cells can then be used to build more advanced laboratory models-such as "tendon-on-a-chip" systems-that mimic how tendons experience movement, load, and interaction with other cell types. These models will help scientists study disease processes and could support the development of new treatments in the future.

To support this work, the research team also receives a small amount of non-identifiable medical information about each donor-such as age, general health information, and the reason for surgery. This helps researchers understand how different factors may influence tendon biology. All personal details (like names or NHS numbers) remain within the hospital and are never shared with the research team.

Why this research matters:

Human tendon tissue is rarely available for research, yet it is essential for creating accurate models and understanding real-world disease. By using tissue that would otherwise be discarded, this study will:

• Provide new insights into how tendons function and how tendon diseases develop.
• Help researchers design more realistic laboratory systems to study tendon conditions.
• Support future work aiming to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of tendon disorders.

Although participants will not directly benefit, their donated tissue may contribute to scientific progress that improves care for people with tendon injuries in the future.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mays Jawad, PhD; Phone Number: 020 7882 7275/6574; Email: research.governance@qmul.ac.uk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients scheduled to undergo orthopaedic lower limb surgery at the Royal London, Whipps Cross University Hospital and the Barts Health Orthopaedic Centre in Newham.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older
• Scheduled to undergo orthopaedic lower limb surgery that involve tendon tissue waste
• Have provided informed consent to take part in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under the age of 18
• Unable or unwilling to give informed consent (including those with limited English proficiency)
• Cases where tendon tissue is required for clinical care and therefore not surplus.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Obtain sufficient tendon tissue samples.	The main outcome of this project is to obtain sufficient tendon tissue to isolate different human tendon cells and perform tissue analysis.	Perioperative to immediate post-collection laboratory processing (within 24 hours).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Queen Mary University of London
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Hazel Screen, Professor, PhD, Queen Mary University of London

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2031
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2031

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 1, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 18, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 26, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 18, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Tendon tissue collection
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Muscular Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Tendon Injuries; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Tendinopathy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 368295

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: No individual participant data will be shared. All data used in the study are pseudonymised before transfer to the research team, and identifiable information remains within the NHS clinical environment. No IPD dataset suitable for external sharing will be generated.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No