Medical science is on the cusp of a revolution in new and better treatments as medical AIs, machine learning, and other data-powered tools go online. These tools have an incredible potential to save lives by contributing to finding cures for diseases, earlier and more accurate diagnoses, identifying new drugs and treatments, and much more.The issue for researchers, however, is getting ethical access to medical data in the first place, and ensuring the data is high-quality and without bias. Up until now, medical data has been locked away and fragmented in healthcare facilities, with no easy or even legal way for the data to be shared. Even more problematic is the lack of representation in most available medical data sets, which introduces bias into the results of the algorithms and programs using them. A solution to these problems would help medical science jump light-years ahead and could offer hope and an end to suffering for millions – or even billions – worldwide. At Data Lake, we are launching just such a solution.Founded in 2019 by medical doctors Wojciech Sierocki and Ligia Kornowska, Data Lake is an EU-funded start-up creating a global medical data donation system based on blockchain technology, with privacy and informed consent as fundamental pillars. Our system empowers people to give or revoke consent to the usage of their medical data in a safe, easy and private way, while providing large datasets that will revolutionize scientific research and medical studies. We are one of the few projects providing real-world solutions based on European legislation such as the GDPR, Data Governance Act (DGA) and the upcoming European Health Data Space (EHDS).Our system uses blockchain technology to record and verify donor consent, ensuring their data is only used with express permission as evidenced on the blockchain. This consent system is running on Polygon chain, an ETH L2 chain with low fees, fast transactions, and optimal scalability. Additionally our medical data ecosystem is powered by $LAKE, an ERC20 token on Ethereum chain that is an entry-ticket to participation backed by real-world data transfers.We hope to set a standard for international data donation and democratize access to medical data, while proving that privacy and donor consent can – and should – play vital roles in any such system.