Biobank Governance in Spain: From the Autonomy of Research Ethics Committees to the Autonomy of Lay People

Abstract

According to Time Magazine, biobanks are one of the “10 ideas changing the world right now” (Park in Biobanks (10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now) 2009), nothing less. Collecting biological material for research is not a novel thing, but developments in genomics have renewed interest in establishing new biobanks, as well as increasing access to existing collections.