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On June 15, Governor Charlie Baker signed a $500 million bill intended to further promote and develop the life sciences field within Massachusetts. Contained within its text are goals of providing tax breaks and capital spending to the sector over the next five years. This is an important commitment that validates and continues the work of former Governor Deval Patrick’s $1 billion life sciences bill of 2008, which recently exhausted its mandate.

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With these bills as evidence, Boston is no stranger to the biotech industry. Home to the world’s most elite education institutions and medical facilities, there’s a reason why in 2017 Bill and Melinda Gates chose Boston to establish the non-profit Gates Medical Research Institute, funneling their vast philanthropic efforts into Boston biotech. The key players in biotech know our city is the global hub of medical research and development and are investing here heavily in response.

One increasingly significant component of the biotech industry is crowdsourcing. New developments in cell and gene therapies such as the usage of CRISPR-Cas9 (Reis 2014) to edit gene sequences are rapidly rising as everyday citizens donate their blood and bone marrow for research. Long story short: donations are helping save lives and researchers need a diverse pool of healthy donors today.

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One key player in this picture is the cell donation firm LeukoLab. With offices in Quincy, Mass., and Alameda, Calif., LeukoLab is proud to be a part of the meteoric rise of biotech in Boston over the past two decades. In their own words, their goal is to “educate citizens on the exciting research that’s taking place locally here in Boston and how they can be a part of the action.”

For many, the notion of donating blood and bone marrow can be daunting. However, LeukoLab works hard to ensure that each donor is educated about the entire donation process and that each donation is collected in a safe and comfortable environment. From college students to working adults, the ability to crowdsource donations from the community allows for everyday Boston residents to meaningfully contribute to the scientific world while being compensated for their time.

In the world of cell donations, transparency is also extremely important. Among the exciting work that donations at LeukoLab have helped support include cutting edge research occurring through the 100,000 Genomes Project and at educational institutions such as University of California, San Francisco. These projects depend on donations that allow them to meticulously test, validate, and produce cures for a rapidly changing world.

Ultimately, crowdsourced research is the future of science. The ability for people to come together and create a “better world” is not an intangible act. From cancer research to sickle cell research, donation firms such as LeukoLab are here to help you help others.

Find out how you can contribute at LeukoLab.com.

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LeukoLab is located at 500 Congress St #1A, Quincy, MA 02169 and can be reached via phone at (857) 972-7330, M-Fr 7:30AM - 4:30PM.

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