Dated - January 15, 2014
Dear Colleagues,
As part of an ongoing study I am conducting in Prof Caroline Jefferies research group in MCT I am seeking to recruit male and female blood donors aged between 40-70 yrs.
I am hoping to get a list of willing donors that I can contact to donate 60mls of blood.
All donors will receive a Dunnes Stores gift voucher (€10) for donating blood.
The clinics are usually on a Tuesday or Thursday, so I can generally give a few days notice and blood will be taken in 123 St Stephens green.
Our study focuses on the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS), women are 9 times more likely to suffer from SS than men. SS occurs when our immune system, which normally provides protection from infection, begins to attack parts of the body instead. There is currently no cure for SS and the exact cause is unknown, however genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role. The body’s response to both bacterial and viral infections is also thought to contribute to disease development and severity.
This study aims to clearly characterise peripheral blood cells in SS patients and establish if peripheral anti-bacterial or anti-viral responses are inappropriately regulated.
Please reply to the email below if you are interested in participating in the study.
I would like to thank everyone who volunteered last year, please confirm by email your willingness for continued participation.
Kind regards,
Joan
Joan Ní Gabhann PhD
Honorary Lecturer in Biochemistry (joannigabhann@rcsi.ie)