Why we need healthy volunteers
People without a diagnosis are needed for many research studies. You could be a relative or friend of someone with a diagnosis.
If you’re relatively healthy, the term we use in research is a "healthy volunteer". Healthy volunteers help provide researchers with crucial data because your health information can be used as a comparison. In some studies, researchers need to compare healthy volunteers with people who have a specific disease or condition.
Your contribution helps us understand more about what works and what doesn’t.
For example, when developing a new therapy such as giving a sample, we need healthy volunteers to help us understand what "normal" is so we can compare it to individuals who might have a condition. You will often be given the same treatment as others in the study.
Financial compensation
Research often relies on volunteers but studies will often pay your expenses. You'll need to contact the study team directly to find out more about the arrangements in place.
Next steps
- Search for a study - find a study using condition, medicine, location or keyword.
- What is health and care research? - understand what research is and why it's so important.
- How to take part in research