The National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) has launched the National Hearing and Balance Organ Donor Program (NHBODP) through an administrative supplement grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). NHBODP is an Administrative Supplement award under NDRI’s long-running Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource grant (HTORR), aimed at expanding NIDCD’s existing temporal bone donation program.
Due to the heterogeneity in the causalities of sensorineural hearing and balance impairment (SHBI), which include genetic factors, environmental exposures, and aging, human biospecimens from patients with diagnosed SHBI and documented treatment histories are needed. Acquiring such well-characterized human biospecimens is challenging for investigators studying hearing and balance. To address this gap, the NHBODP is utilizing a comprehensive model to collect temporal bone and brain tissues from donors with documented histories of SHBIs to provide scientists with multiple, critical tissue samples for their research studies. Collectively, these efforts will maximize the benefits of these generous donations for the donor families as well as expanding the research potential to the hearing and balance research community.
“NDRI is thrilled to continue the ongoing development of the National Hearing and Balance Organ Donor Program,” said Thomas Bell, MS, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of NDRI. “Sensorineural hearing and balance impairment is a common disability and major public health issue. Currently there are no cures, only disease-modifying treatment options available for SHBI patients. We are excited to have the opportunity to help support the advancement of this critical need for SHBI research.”
“For nearly forty years, HTORR has been a leading research resource for the biomedical research community, at the forefront of coordinating the collection, preservation, and distribution of human biospecimens from all body systems including those that are sensitive and difficult to access” said Valerie Estela-Pro, PhD, NDRI’s Director of External Scientific Affairs. “We are excited use our expertise to support NIDCD researchers as they work to understand and treat hearing and balance disorders.”
About the National Hearing and Balance Organ Donor Program
To meet the growing need for tissue donations and promote research, the National Temporal Bone Banks Program was founded in 1960 at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, with support from NIH (NIDCD) and the Deafness Research Foundation (now Hearing Health Foundation). This program coordinated the efforts of 28 laboratories and clinics across the country to encourage tissue donations for research and clinical training. Continued support of that program was added in 1992 with the founding of the NIDCD National Temporal Bone Registry. In 2022, in an effort to modernize and expand resources for this rapidly evolving field, NIDCD renewed its support for the program, and in 2025, NDRI was awarded a supplemental grant through the U42 Human Tissue and Organs for Research Resource (HTORR) to take over the management and expansion of the resource, now called the National Hearing and Balance Organ Donor Program.