An observational study in Undiagnosed Diseases and Cardiovascular Disease, sponsored by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 1 Month to 100 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-29.
Sponsored by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) · Observational
Background:
Studies show that rare genetic variants might lead to diseases. Researchers want to collect blood and tissue samples so they can study them and better understand diseases.
Objective:
To collect blood and tissue samples for studies to identify underlying causes of disease.
Eligibility:
People of all ages
Design:
Participants will have blood and/or tissue samples collected.
Samples can be collected at the NIH Clinical Center. Participants doctors can collect the samples and send them to NIH. NIH staff can collect samples off site.
For blood samples, blood is taken from an arm vein using a needle.
Tissue collection may involve:
Buccal smear: Cells are collected by scraping the inside of the cheek with a cotton swab.
Saliva collection: Participants spit into a cup.
Skin biopsy: A special needle takes a very small skin sample.
Surgical waste tissue: If participants have surgery, NIH may receive samples of tissue that
would routinely be removed.
Umbilical cord or cord blood collection: If a participant has a baby, NIH may receive a
small piece of the umbilical cord or blood from the cord once the baby is delivered.
...
The diversity of human research programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides a unique opportunity to study different patient populations with monogenetic and undiagnosed diseases with vascular implications. Patient populations with mutations in almost every major signaling pathway related to cardiovascular diseases are actively investigated at the NIH Clinical Center. The purpose of this protocol is to obtain and analyze human biospecimens from affected and unaffected cohorts (as reference biospecimens) to identify genetic etiology and/or underlying disease mechanism(s) in rare genetic vascular/cardiovascular conditions. The collections will consist of biospecimens obtained from participants consented under this protocol and will also provide for the continued storage and analysis of biospecimens previously obtained from NIH Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocols, or from NIH protocols nearing completion. The biospecimens collected under this protocol will include blood (plasma, serum, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)), saliva, buccal mucosa, urine, and skin biopsies. Additional biospecimens collected under other protocols may also be transferred to this protocol, including, tissue and fluid aspirates (cerebrospinal fluid, ascites, etc.), bone marrow, urine, saliva, skin biopsies, surgical tissue waste, malignant and non-malignant tissue samples, and/or other direct derivatives from human tissues (i.e. DNA, RNA, and induced pluripotent stems cells). Post-delivery umbilical cord core blood and cord tissue waste will be collected at the time of delivery under this protocol and/or shared if obtained under other protocols. Biospecimens may also be obtained as shared samples of clinically indicated procedures done inside or outside NIH, provided the subject consents to this protocol.
The primary objective of this protocol is to create a robust resource to support basic and translational research by providing a mechanism for collecting, tracking, storing, dispensing, analyzing, and disposing of laboratory research samples from affected and unaffected cohorts. This research will advance high-quality research in the areas of genetics and personalized medicine.
As this is not a treatment protocol, there is no primary endpoint. Research studies will include, but not be limited to, genomic studies, primary cell isolation and cell culture studies for molecular and biochemical analysis, immunohistological analysis, generation of patient-specific in vitro disease models (i.e. IPSCs), etc. As science is a continuously evolving field, technological advances in research methods will be incorporated into research studies accordingly.
5,368 studies on the registry are indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases; 939 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 10,000 is above the median of 506 across 1,572 observational studies indexed under Cardiovascular Diseases.
Browse Cardiovascular Diseases studies →National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the lead sponsor of 1,143 studies on the registry; 71 are open to participants now.
Of its 58 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 51 (88%) have results posted.
Compared within Cardiovascular Diseases, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Undiagnosed Diseases. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Affected or unaffected cohorts (including genetic carriers or non-carriers as reference biospecimens)
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Affected or unaffected cohorts (including genetic carriers or non-carriers as reference biospecimens)
To procure human biospecimens from affected and unaffected cohorts for on-going and future basic and translational research studies to identify underlying disease mechanism(s)
The primary objective is to procure human biospecimens from affected and unaffected cohorts for on-going and future basic translational research studies to identify underlying disease mechanism(s) and potential therapeutic approaches
Time frame: ongoing
Plan to share: Undecided — It is not yet known if there will be a plan to make IPD available.
Started Sep 2015 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jun 2040, 296 months after the start.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) →