The boom and bust cycle of biobanking - thinking through the life cycle of biobanks.

Abstract

The collection and use of tissue samples is by no means a new phenomenon (1,2). As an object of political interest and action, the international preoccupation and focus on biobanking has grown significantly in recent years. What has become more apparent is the quest to develop a more robust and systematized system for the collections, storage, and distributions of tissue samples and the data that can be derived from them. From a policy perspective it is clear that biobanking has attracted a great deal of public funding in order to set up international networks of exchange between various actors. At the same time, however, the international boom associated with biobanks raises a number of important questions as to the development and sustainability of the field in the long run.