- Personal information. Sharing of personal information (blood specimens, personal history, genetic information, etc.) is not without risk. Research to identify genes that cause or contribute to a disease or trait is an increasingly important way to try to understand the role of genes in human disease. The participants were given a consent form because the Johnson and DeBakey VA Medical Centers investigators want to include the participants' blood sample in a research project, or because they want to save such biological specimens for future research.