On Feb. 22, 2024, the University of California, San Francisco (UC, San Francisco) launched the world’s first tissue bank with samples donated by patients with long COVID. The move follows research indicating that the virus can continue to linger throughout the body and may hold the key to understanding the cause of the debilitating disorder and lead to effective treatments.

By October 2023, an estimated 14% of Americans had or had had long COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disorder may appear as a continuation of the original COVID symptoms or manifest as new symptoms affecting any part of the body. In serious cases multiple body systems are affected, including the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and skin.

Tissue specimens will be acquired from existing and future participants enrolled in UCSF’s LIINC study, and shared with non-UCSF scientists conducting complementary research. The study, which was launched in April 2020 before long COVID was recognized, is open to all adults who have ever tested positive for COVID-19.