Healthy volunteer

Someone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.

Learning 

What it means

A healthy volunteer is a participant who does not have the condition under study. They are often included in early studies, or as a comparison group.

Why it matters if you take part

If a study accepts healthy volunteers, people without the condition may be able to take part. Most studies do not.

Related terms

Trials recruiting now that accept healthy volunteers

366 recruiting trials in our Canadian corpus accept healthy volunteers.

This explains how clinical research works. It is not medical advice and does not describe any specific condition or treatment. Only a trial site can determine whether someone can take part in a study.