There are such a wide variety of clinical trials that most people can find one that they can participate in.

Each clinical trial has its own set of specific guidelines for participation. These are called “inclusion criteria” and “exclusion criteria”.

Inclusion criteria must be met in order to be included in the trial and exclusion criteria is anything that will disqualify a person from participating. Factors such as age, gender, disease, stage of the disease, and former treatments received are the basic criteria that are reviewed.

If you think you qualify for a clinical trial and are not chosen, don’t take it personally. It may just have been that the study already found enough participants. Potential participants are often given a medical screening where they test your urine and blood and give you an ECG to check your heart health.

They also may test for any illegal drugs. Most clinical trials are looking for people with a certain disease, but who are fairly healthy otherwise. Some studies also need healthy participants to use as a comparison.

Participation in some clinical trials may require only a short amount of your time. If testing can be done at your local doctor’s office and can be done on an outpatient basis, chances are you can participate with little intrusion to the rest of your life. Other clinical trials may require that you travel, and that you stay in a facility for a few days, weeks or possibly months.

If you agree to participate in a clinical trial you’ll want to know ahead of time what the time commitments are and that you will be able to meet those commitments.