Study data and specimens aren’t always easy to come by, and once you’ve got them in hand, you may want to keep them for future use. If there’s any possibility at all that you will retain study data (including genetic data) or specimens for future use, please make sure your consent process/form (or requested consent-related waivers) address this future use. Also, if there’s a possibility you’ll have to upload genetic data to a publicly available database in the future (because the funding agency or journal might require it), please address this possibility in the current consent materials. Keep in mind that the genetic data might have been created for the current study, or it might only be created in future research using the stored specimens.
Failing to mention future use or data sharing in the current consent materials may make it impossible to use these materials in future projects or to upload them to publicly available databases. While the IRB may be able to grant waivers for such use if consent was obtained years ago and the proposed use is not inconsistent with the original consent, regulations about future use have become much more restrictive in recent years. The IRB may not be able to waive consent for future use or sharing if a more recent consent process did not specifically address such possibilities, which would be, shall we say, problematic for (translation: could entirely kibosh) planned studies.