Frequently asked questions

The H4H (Health for Hungary - Hungary for Health) Program is part of a cutting-edge nonprofit research program that aims to develop a personalized infrared laser-based novel diagnostic tool for the future of healthcare. Drawing on the latest advances in different scientific fields - laser physics, medicine, molecular diagnostics, computational data analysis – we have developed a new approach of Infrared Molecular Fingerprinting for minimally invasive health monitoring and early diagnosis of diseases, such as cancer.

You can donate blood for the program at one of our collaborating institutions. Please find the list of these institutions under the Become a volunteer menu on a map.

The required blood sample volume is 14 ml in addition to the amount required for routine laboratory blood tests.

We aim to measure blood samples from 15.000 participants over 10 years. This way, the differences between individuals, as well as within-individual changes, can be described. To examine the health changes within a person, it is essential that volunteers visit us 1-3 times per year over several years. Regular blood donations (every 4,5 months) are indispensable for the success of our research. Therefore, we kindly ask you only to participate if you can commit to donating blood 2-3 times over the years. Once you are part of the research, the blood donation only takes a few minutes.

The H4H Program is developing an innovative and promising method for the minimally invasive detection of diseases such as cancer. By donating 14 ml of blood, you will make an important personal contribution to the future of health monitoring, play a part in shaping the future of clinical medicine, and hopefully help save lives.

First of all, you can facilitate to advance of the frontiers of medicine and contribute to developing a novel diagnostic tool of the future: not curative – but a preventive medical approach. Personalized medicine that will help people at an individual level. To monitor your health, we will evaluate your laboratory blood count free of charge upon your request, which you will receive each time you give a blood sample to keep track of your health. The above-mentioned evaluation is optional and will only be pursued with your permission. You will be reimbursed with a fee of 3000 Ft for the first donation (selection for the examination), and for each subsequent visit, the reimbursement will be even higher - increased by 1000 Ft on each occasion.

We seek voluntary blood donors over 40 years of age who are free of malignant disease. If you have a mild, well-controlled primary disorder other than cancer (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, asthma, etc.), you are eligible to take part. For details, please check with one of our collaborating institutions.

Please note that cancer patients cannot donate blood samples at this point. Participation in the H4H Program can only happen in very exceptional cases (in remission for over 5 years) or a specific type of semi-malignant cancer (such as basalioma). For details, please check with one of our collaborating institutions.

Participation of pregnant women in clinical studies is subject to special regulations. For this reason, those who are pregnant cannot take part in this study.

Donors who have a primary disease are eligible to participate in the H4H study – provided that they do not have malignant disease. Please note that – at this point – cancer patients generally cannot donate blood samples in response to this present appeal.

The sample volume needed for the H4H Program is quite small (14 ml in addition to the amount required for laboratory tests, which is no more than the amount required for a routine clinical laboratory test). Therefore, it does not matter when your last regular blood donation (not related to the H4H Program) took place.

Since any vaccination (COVID or any other type) can alter the cellular composition of the blood, please wait for at least two weeks after vaccination before donating blood within the H4H Program for the first time.

You need to bring nothing with you when donating blood to the H4H Program. Usually, the blood sample is taken from the crook of the arm, so it is helpful if the arm is easily accessible. You should also make sure to drink enough water before and after donating blood.

Before donating your blood, you will be given an explanatory briefing, including a detailed description of the program, and a member of the study team will inform you about the benefits and risks involved. You will then be asked to sign a consent form and fill out a questionnaire in which you will be asked for information about your age, sex, current illnesses, and medication. Then a 14-ml sample will be taken by a trained member of the clinical staff, in addition to the amount of blood required for laboratory tests. The sample is then immediately frozen and stored at one of our collaborating institutions, from where it is collected at set intervals into a biobank. The molecular fingerprinting analysis is carried out by CMF personnel - currently at the Faculty of Physics at LMU Munich and soon at the CMF laboratories in Hungary.

The blood donation itself takes only a few minutes. The entire procedure, including the time needed for the preliminary briefing and completion of the study questionnaire, lasts between 20 and 30 minutes. At the first visit, an additional 20-30 minutes is required for the informed consent procedure.

The study is subject to all the standard provisions governing medical confidentiality and data protection. All data are collected and anonymized by employees of the collaborating institutions before the samples are made available to researchers at the Center for Molecular Fingerprinting (CMF). Neither the donor’s name, initials, or exact date of birth are incorporated into the coding of the individual samples. The data obtained from sample analysis will be evaluated exclusively in the context of the H4H Program.

Since the method of analysis to be used in the study is still in the experimental phase, the results cannot be communicated to donors. However, you’ll be informed about the results of the regular blood test performed parallelly with the blood donation.

Immediately after the sample is taken, blood plasma is separated from other components of blood. The plasma is then frozen and stored until required (temporarily at the collaborating institutions, then at the Biobank of Szegedi TE). The molecular fingerprinting analysis is currently carried out in the Faculty of Physics at LMU Munich and soon at the CMF laboratories in Hungary. If you subsequently decide to withdraw from the study, you may decide that the remaining portion of the sample that you donated will be destroyed or can be kept.

If you have any further questions about the H4H Program or need any further information, please contact us via: Phone: +36 30 016 7102 (M-F: 9-17h) E-mail: info@h4h.hu

Our goal is to improve the current medical system by creating a new, minimally invasive way of health monitoring and detecting diseases at an early stage.

An essential part of the research is the collection of blood samples from healthy individuals voluntarily to establish the reference range of the data measured by our new approach (involving laser technology) to describe differences between individuals as well as changes within an individual over time. Currently, inclusion into the H4H Program is on hold.

Currently, inclusion into the H4H Program is on hold.

We are constantly working on expanding our network of collaborating institutions to bring the H4H Program close to as many individuals as possible. If you are unable to travel to any of our current collaborating institutions, please check our website in a couple of months as we might have new institutions by then that are closer to you.