Why Participate?

Medical researchers have made great strides over the years, resulting in the eradication of catastrophic diseases, restoration of physical abilities damaged or lost through birth defect or accident, the conversion of a fatal illness to one that is chronic and manageable, and more. But much more needs to be done. Clinical research simply cannot be done without willing participants, and without clinical research medical advances will not occur.

When you or your loved one participate in clinical research, you are not only contributing to the body of knowledge that results in these advances, but oftentimes you are accessing the cutting-edge options of medical care.

Patient volunteers are individuals with known health problems who participate in research designed to better understand, diagnose, treat or cure their condition. When receiving treatment in a clinical trial, they receive either the best standard treatment or a new treatment believed to be at least as good as the standard. For some patients, clinical trials present the only treatment option — when no known treatments exist, or all standard treatments have failed. While an individual's condition may not improve, participation still is incredibly valuable to the research process.

Healthy volunteers are also vital to the success of clinical research. Their information can be used to define the limits of "normal," and used as a control, or comparison, for patient groups.

Learn how to participate in research

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