Representatives of the German Biobank Node (GBN), the biobanks of the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) and patient organisations have jointly developed a position paper entitled "Strengthening academic biobanks and patient participation for biomedical research". This was presented to a wider audience - including other patient representatives, members of the GBA community, researchers, science managers, ethics experts and other stakeholders - on 10 October. The aim is to gain supporters or co-signatories to the paper to give the initiative greater visibility. The paper is primarily aimed at funding agencies. If you are interested in supporting the initiative, please contact the GBN office by email (germanbiobanknode@charite.de). You will then receive a link to the document and information on procedures and deadlines.
Background
The aim of the initiative is to ensure that the collection, processing and storage of human biospecimens such as blood or tissue for publicly funded biomedical research projects (biobanking) is primarily carried out by quality-assured academic biobanks. Unfortunately, research projects still all too often set up their own freezers and do the work themselves. The quality of the samples is often inadequate and the material is not available to other researchers. However, optimal sample quality and use is the basis for rapid innovation and effective and safe therapies. This progress in medical research is in line with the wishes of sample donors. There is also room for improvement in the cooperation of research infrastructures in the field of biobanking. Last but not least, it is particularly important that patient representatives are more consistently involved in the entire research process.
