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How Many Health Research Biobanks Are There?
Sheila O'Donoghue1, Simon Dee1, Jennifer A Byrne2,3
1Biobanking and Biospecimen Research Services, Deeley Research Centre, BC Cancer Victoria Center, Victoria, Canada.
Biopreservation and Biobanking
|September 28, 2021
Summary
Counting health research biobanks is challenging. Online biobank locators now offer data, revealing 11-30 biobanks per million people in high-research-capacity regions.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Research Infrastructure
- Health Services Research
- Biobanking Operations
Background:
- Determining the number of existing biobanks is crucial for research stakeholders.
- Data on biobank numbers is often unavailable or difficult to locate from traditional sources.
- The development of online biobank locators provides new data for this assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the number of health research biobanks relative to population size.
- To analyze the utility of biobank locators for tracking biobank numbers.
- To assess the potential of locators in research strategy monitoring and resource management.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of four specific biobank locators: BBMRI-ERIC, CTRNet, NSW Health Pathology, and UKCRC Tissue Directory.
- Inclusion of data from 12 countries and/or states with varying research capacities.
- Correlation of biobank numbers with population size and gross domestic product.
Main Results:
- An estimated 11-30 health research biobanks exist per million population in regions with high research capacity.
- This includes approximately 2 large biobanks (>1000 samples) and 9-28 medium-small biobanks per million population.
- The analyzed locators provide initial data to address biobank quantity in relation to population.
Conclusions:
- Online biobank locators are valuable tools for quantifying biobank resources.
- These locators can aid funders and institutions in monitoring research strategies.
- Utilizing locators can help prevent the unnecessary duplication of biobank resources and improve efficiency.
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