Biobanks: A Definition

Abstract

The terms biorepository, Biological resource centre (BRC), biobank refer to structured collections of biological samples and associated data, stored for the purposes of present and future research. Both biorepositories (ISBER 2001) and BRCs (OECD in Best practice guidelines for biological resource centers, 2007) can include tissues from humans, animals, cell and bacterial cultures, and even environmental samples (see below the OECD definition of BRCs), while a biobank typically handles human biospecimens—such as tissue, blood, urine—and information pertaining to the donors: demography and lifestyle, history of present illness, treatment and clinical outcomes.