Biobanks

A biobank is an organised repository that collects, processes, stores and makes available biological specimens for biomedical research. Its defining feature is the systematic linkage of specimens with relevant associated data, subject to quality, ethical and access controls; it is therefore more than a simple sample-storage facility.

What a biobank contains

A biobank may preserve blood, tissues, cells, DNA and other biological materials collected from participants. These specimens may be linked with clinical, demographic, lifestyle or laboratory information needed to answer research questions.

• Collection, processing, preservation, documentation and retrieval follow standard procedures to maintain sample quality and traceability.
• A biobank may support a defined study or retain material for ethically approved future research.

Research purpose

By providing well-characterised specimens and data, biobanks enable studies of disease mechanisms, genetic and environmental risk factors, biomarkers, diagnostics and treatment responses. Large, systematically maintained collections also permit comparison across individuals and populations.

• They reduce the need to collect fresh samples for every investigation and support reproducible research.
• Access is governed by the purpose for which the material was collected and by approved research protocols.

Ethical and governance safeguards

Biobanking involving human participants must respect informed consent, privacy and confidentiality. Governance ordinarily covers collection, future or secondary use, data linkage, sharing, transfer, storage duration and disposal.

• An Institutional Ethics Committee reviews the proposed collection and research use of human biological material.
• Coding or anonymisation, secure data systems and controlled access reduce the risk of identifying participants.
• Researchers must address fair access, responsible sharing and benefit sharing where applicable.