Academic Hospital-Based Biobank Modeling in Indonesia: Lessons Learned from a Collaborative Institutions Trial

Hospital-based biobanks are vital for biomedical research, translational medicine, and personalized health care. However, in Indonesia, they remain underdeveloped, limiting access to well-annotated biospecimens and underrepresenting Indonesian cohorts. Challenges include limited infrastructure, fragmented data, regulatory complexities, insufficient funding, and a lack of standardized procedures and trained staff. These hinder biospecimen collection, storage, and use. This study proposes a hospital biobank model tailored to Indonesia's health care environment to foster sustainable biobank development.

Modeling occurred between 2020 and 2022 as a collaboration between the Biobank Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing UGM, and UGM Academic Hospital. The process involved four steps (1) planning; (2) protocol preparation; (3) modeling; and (4) evaluation, recommendation, and dissemination. Planning involved a desk review and stakeholder discussions, resulting in a business plan and a protocol. Four workstreams-governance, ethics, sample collection, and data management-developed in parallel. The modeling included team training, a dry trial, and model implementation with 24 participants from UGM Hospital's general surgery. Results were discussed and shared at a national workshop with hospital biobank stakeholders.

The hospital-based biobank modeling successfully established and evaluated an integrated framework encompassing governance; specimen collection; ethics, legal, and social implications; and data management. A governance structure, standardized workflows and SOPs, a dual-consent process, and a SIMBIOX 1.2-based data management system were developed and implemented. The pilot enrolled 24 participants, demonstrating the feasibility of integrating biobanking activities into routine clinical services, with most participants completing the process successfully and expressing positive acceptance of biobank participation. The modeling process also identified operational, logistical, and communication challenges that informed subsequent improvements.

This modeling strategy lays the groundwork for establishing biobanks, enabling health care professionals and policymakers to address challenges and maximize the benefits of biobanking in Indonesia.