When our nation’s hospitals put out an urgent call for PaxGene RNA Blood tubes to be used in handling the coronavirus disease of 2019, COVID-19, research efforts, members of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute’s (CAMI) Genomics Team responded. Originally, these tubes were designated for use in collecting blood samples for an upcoming sleep study to be conducted at CAMI. Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the sleep study is temporarily on-hold but the equipment is being put to good use. PAXgene® tubes are blood collection tubes that preserve RNA for research, used when comparing gene expression levels. CAMI loaned 400 of these tubes to one of their contracting partners; Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston, MA, a location in desperate need of this equipment.

These tubes will be used to collect specimens for COVID research. Hospitals are collecting a variety of biospecimens from patients for a biorepository at Partners Biobank. These biospecimens will be used for current and future research on the virus. It is anticipated that the COVID-19 biorepository will be one of the most important and powerful tools to aid in understanding COVID and developing new tools to protect against future harm. In a gesture of goodwill, the BWH agreed to replace the loan of the tubes at a later date.