Biobanking

Biobanking is a form of biological storage, used in research settings. From the 1990s onwards, biobanks have become instrumental in medical research, particularly in the fields of genomics and personalized medicine.

Biobanks allow researchers to collect and analyze vast quantities of data. The samples and data collected by biobanks are often used by researchers in multiple projects and settings, most significantly cross-purpose studies, often for the purposes of fighting and understanding diseases and how they are spread. Prior to the advent of biobanks, acquiring samples for these purposes was much harder than it is now.

Ethically, biobanks have raised questions on privacy, research ethics, and medical ethics. While viewpoints on these ethics are varied, the general consensus is that strong ethical guidelines and policies are needed for the purposes of operating a biobank, as failing to do so can be detrimental to biobanks themselves, as well populations that allow biobanks to open in their local communities.