Taking part in clinical trials helped me save enough money to fulfil my dream…

2 min to read

Yasmine travelling to South East Asia

This is now my second clinical trial that I have participated in at Quotient Clinical, my first one was three years ago. Back then I was very nervous at first and didn’t know what to expect and also wasn’t a fan of needles.

However, on entering the ward for the first time I instantly felt safe and all the staff were so welcoming and helpful. I settled in and started chatting to the other volunteers about their past trial experiences and life stories. I started becoming more relaxed although in the back of my mind I still didn’t know if I could cope with staying inside the building days at a time as I am a very active person and thought the hour and minutes would drag on. I was definitely proved wrong, I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the days seemed to go. There are lots of different lounges with TVs, Xboxes; and all the volunteers are always around and want to chat. I found myself playing pool, table tennis, board games, having film nights. I made close friends with volunteers and even overcame my fear for needles and became very interested in the actual medical side behind the trials and the staff who work there.

From this experience I was able to save enough money to complete my dream and go travelling around South East Asia and then after, moved over to Australia. I have only recently returned back to the UK and I am now doing my second trial at Quotient. I was sceptical to see if I would enjoy it as much as my first one. It didn’t disappoint, I have made some great friends. I love meeting new people and even though there are obvious restrictions on what we can do, I can still have a laugh. They have even started a bingo session and quiz days on Tuesdays which gets people together to just have some fun.

In the real life of now working two jobs it’s such a nice break to go in and relax and not having to think too much, apart from what’s for dinner. Big shout out to the man Chris, the house chef there and his home made food. I love his cornflake tart with custard. It is definitely nothing like hospital food which I first expected before my first trial. I think it’s a great way to meet people and earn cash for those dreams, holidays or just something to spend on whatever you want. Whilst doing this, I am also helping the development of science, research and drugs to help those that are in need and this gives me great satisfaction of being able to have the opportunity to do so. It’s a win win in my eyes and it has now opened my friends’ minds to take part in clinical trials. I will most definitely be taking part in more future studies at Quotient.