// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
Heavy periods study to create world's largest biobank
Professor Gemma Sharp, from the University of Exeter, hopes the study will be "a real game changer" for menstrual health research
A major new research project aiming to transform care for women with heavy periods is to create the world's largest menstrual fluid biobank.
The CycleTrack study hopes to improve understanding of heavy menstrual bleeding and related conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, helping speed up diagnosis and treatment for millions of women.
Led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Exeter, it will collect real-time health data and menstrual fluid samples from thousands of women across the UK.
Professor Gemma Sharp said the study was going to be "a real game changer" for menstrual health research and could cut waiting times for effective treatment.
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As part of the study, researchers are working with women who have personal experience of heavy periods.
Maria Lewis, 34, from Weston-super-Mare, has lived with heavy menstrual bleeding since she first started menstruating and was diagnosed with endometriosis last year.
She has taken part in the Children of the 90s, external study since childhood and was keen to support the latest research.