Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Jan 28;27(3):303-12.
doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32835c1244.

Biobanking past, present and future: responsibilities and benefits

Yvonne G De Souza  1 , John S Greenspan
Affiliations
Review

Biobanking past, present and future: responsibilities and benefits

Yvonne G De Souza et al. AIDS. .

Abstract

The review explores the field of biobanking as it has evolved from a simple collection of frozen specimens to the virtual biobank. Biorepository and biospecimen science has evolved in response to the changing landscape of external regulatory pressures, the advances made in the biological sciences, and the advent of the computer chip. Biospecimen banking is a growing enterprise crucial to health science research and other biological sciences. In this review we discuss the history of biobanking, highlight current and emerging issues, discuss demands and responses, and describe an example of a biobank, the University of California, San Francisco AIDS Specimen Bank that has functioned for 30 years.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
UCSF AIDS Specimen Bank - Deposits and Withdrawals December 1982-August 2012.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Biobanking Work Processes
These are the steps involved in a typical biobank. A. Specimen collection (consent has been obtained prior to collection) B. Centrifugation of specimens for processing C. Serum (red top blood tubes) and 50 ml conical containing peripheral blood mononuclear cell layer sitting on ficoll after centrifugation. D. Sub-aliquotting specimens under a biosafety laminar flow cabinet. E. Putting specimens into long-term storage. F. Specimens will be shipped to investigators for translational research.
Figure 3
Figure 3. UCSF AIDS Specimen Bank – Specimen Accessioning, Processing and Storage Workflow
Figure 4
Figure 4. UCSF AIDS Specimen Bank – Specimen Withdrawal/Request Workflow
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vaught JB. Biorepository and Biospecimen Science: a new focus for CEBP. Cancer Epidemiol Biomakers Prev. 2006;15:1572–1573. - PubMed
    1. Knoppers BM. Biobanking: international norms. J Law Med Ethics. 2005;33:7–14. - PubMed
    1. Watson PH, Barnes RO. A proposed schema for classifying human research biobanks. Biopreserv Biobank. 2011;9:327–333. - PubMed
    1. Elseman E, Haga SB. Handbook of human tissue sources. Santa Monica: Rand; 1999.
    1. [Accessed June 18, 2012];Danish National Biobank [Internet] http://www.ssi.dk/English.

MeSH terms