Abstract
Background: During the past few decades there has been a growing interest on the part of many governments in the creation of biobanks. Nevertheless, this would be impossible without participation of many donors who offer samples of their biological material for scientific research. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing research on social attitudes towards biobanking. Material and Methods: A literature search was conducted in the database of MEDLINE (PubMed). 61 papers were included in the analysis. The retrieved articles were assessed using a thematic analysis. Results: Eight main themes were identified: (1) public knowledge about biobanks, (2) public views on biobanking, (3) willingness to donate, (4) donors’ motivations, (5) perceived benefits and risks of biobanking, (6) preferred type of consent, (7) trust toward biobanks, and (8) demographic characteristics of potential donors. Conclusions: Although the public lacks knowledge about biobanking, many individuals declare willingness to donate. Their will is influenced by: their knowledge about biobanking, the type of donated tissue, research purpose, concerns over the safety of the data, preferred type of consent, and trust towards biobanks.
Highlights
During the past few decades there has been a dynamic development of biobanks [1]
As studies selected for the analyses were very heterogeneous, in terms of research design and goals, methodologies, the study populations, different sample sizes, the type of biobank and biospecimens (DNA, genetic data, blood, residual specimens collected during the course of routine care), they provide limited insight into socio-empirical data and makes generalizing or comparing perspectives across different studies very difficult
This review of the research confirms that, a large part of respondents do not possess knowledge about biobanking [37,61], many respondents are willing to donate their biospecimen, as their readiness to participate in the biobank depends, on respondents’ knowledge [5,8], and on their declared system of values [12,34,52], experiences with healthcare system [64], trust toward the government and scientific institutions [7,26], their beliefs toward the benefits and risks associated with biobanking [9,30], and sociodemographic characteristics [10,22]
Summary
During the past few decades there has been a dynamic development of biobanks [1]. It was caused by the recognition of their potential in the field of public health, and by the hope that they will broaden knowledge about genetic, behavioral, and environmental determinants of many diseases, support the development of new drugs and diagnostic methods, and improve medical care toward more personalized medicine [2]. The functioning of any biobank requires constant participation of a large number of donors and building social trust toward research institutions. For this reason, it is crucial to know the attitudes of the public toward biobanks and factors influencing respondents’ willingness to donate. During the past few decades there has been a growing interest on the part of many governments in the creation of biobanks This would be impossible without participation of many donors who offer samples of their biological material for scientific research. Results: Eight main themes were identified: (1) public knowledge about biobanks, (2) public views on biobanking, (3) willingness to donate, (4) donors’ motivations,
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