Individuals’ health data is vital resource for health research and researchers have used this data for decades to understand more about the factors underpinning health and disease. The EU is reaching the final stages of negotiations on a new data protection law that will control how researchers use individuals’ data and we’ve been working hard to ensure that amendments that would have a damaging impact on research are not included in the final text.
That’s why we’ve joined over 120 patient, research and medical organisations in an open letter published in The Times that asks the European institutions to find a balance in the Data Protection Regulation that enables life-saving research to continue, while keeping individuals’ data safe. Beth Thompson from the Wellcome Trust’s Policy team explains why this issue is so important to us and what you can do to help…read more (Wellcome Trust website)