Biobanking in times of crisis - The COVID-19 Autopsy and Biosample Registry Baden-Wuerttemberg

Abstract

Biobanking plays a critical role in diagnostics, biomarker research and development of novel treatment approaches for various diseases. In urgent need of understanding, preventing and treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the importance of biobanking including data sharing and management further increased. To provide high quality tissue biomaterials and data for research and public health, the COVID-19 Autopsy and Biosample Registry was established in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW) in Germany, combining expertise and technologies of the Institutes of Pathology of the five university hospitals in BW (Heidelberg, Tübingen, Ulm, Freiburg, Mannheim). The COVID-19 Autopsy and Biosample Registry BW comprises tissue samples from autopsies and associated data of deceased patients in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. The aim is to collect autopsy biospecimens, associated clinical and diagnostic data in a timely manner, register them, make them accessible for research projects and thus to support especially tissue-related research addressing COVID-19. By now, the BW network holds multiple collaborations and supported numerous publications to increase the understanding of COVID-19 disease. The achievements of the BW network as a landmark biobanking model project represent a potential blueprint for future disease-related biobanking and registry effort.

Keywords: Autopsy; Biosample registry; COVID-19; Paraffin and cryo-tissue samples; Tissue biobanking.

Fig. 1

Autopsy frequencies at Heidelberg university hospital (UKHD). Distribution of autopsies registered in the COVID-19 Autopsy and Biosample Registry Baden-Wuerttemberg (COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccinated autopsies) in relation to deaths of COVID-19 patients (exemplarily shown for Heidelberg site). In addition, the number of COVID-19 deceased in Germany is shown .

Fig. 2

Positioning of COVID-19 Autopsy and Biosample Registry Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW). In this project, expertise and technologies of five university hospitals are involved (Heidelberg, Tübingen, Ulm, Freiburg, Mannheim). The registry is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Art of BW and coordinated under the roof of the Tissue Bank of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF, located in Heidelberg). The registry cooperates with several networks (NUM; DEFEAT PANDEMIcs; DeRegCOVID; GBA/GBN, etc.) and provides support to COVID-19-related research projects.