Abstract
Biobanks are an extraordinary tool for research and scientific progress. Since their origin, the debate on the main technical, regulatory and ethical aspects has not stopped. The future of biobanks should take into account many factors: the need to improve the technical standards of collection, conservation and use of the sample, the usefulness of achieving forms of harmonization and common governance, the improvement of biobank networks, including through public–private partnerships and improving the sustainability of these infrastructures.
Highlights
Biobanks are an extraordinary tool, which for decades have been progressively creating new research platforms and new possibilities to learn more about the function of living systems in physiological and pathological conditions both acute and chronic [1]
The conditions for the establishment, procurement and use of samples in these two different types of biobanks are very different, given that in disease-oriented biobanks samples are collected mainly from residual materials taken from patients for diagnosis or treatment; in the other case, instead, samples are collected from healthy participants
It is evident that the availability of many samples that comply with adequacy standards may not be guaranteed by a single biobank, so it is necessary that several infrastructures coordinate with each other in order to exchange samples and data, obviously favoring collaboration both at a national and international level
Summary
Biobanks are an extraordinary tool, which for decades have been progressively creating new research platforms and new possibilities to learn more about the function of living systems in physiological and pathological conditions both acute and chronic [1]. The collection of biological samples for research stemmed from the conservation of waste/residual material from biological samples taken for diagnostic and/or therapeutic reasons [5] Over time, these initially sporadic and wholly improvised collections have begun to become increasingly popular, prompting scientists to recognize the need for more uniform, more coordinated and more organized collection-and-use systems in order to guarantee excellent research in the genomic and post-genomic era [6]. These initially sporadic and wholly improvised collections have begun to become increasingly popular, prompting scientists to recognize the need for more uniform, more coordinated and more organized collection-and-use systems in order to guarantee excellent research in the genomic and post-genomic era [6] This has pushed biomedical research and assistance structures to integrate with private structures, starting a path of harmonization and common governance of biobanks [7]. The future of biobanks is already present, and the areas of development in the world of biobanks are many
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