Establishing a biologic specimens repository for reproductive clinical trials: technical aspects

The individual research group or independent investigator often requires access to samples from a unique well characterized subject population. Cohorts of such samples from a well-defined comparative population are rare and limited access can impede progress. This bottleneck can be removed by accessing the samples provided by biorepositories such as the NIH/NICHD Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network (RMN) Biorepository (detailed in the preceeding manuscript in this issue. In those cases where the individual research group or independent investigator already has access to a unique population, comparisons between well-defined groups are often sought to contextualize the data. In both cases seamless integration of data resources associated with the samples is required to ensure optimal comparisons. At the most basic level this requires standardization of sample collection and storage, as well as a de-identified data base containing demographic, clinical, and laboratory values. To facilitate such interoperability, the reagents and protocols that have been adopted by the RMN Biorepository for the collection and storage of serum, blood, saliva and sperm are described.