Specimen banking--a planning in advance

The future value and usefulness of a Specimen Banking Programme is dependent on the way we select the material to be saved and the way we save it. If the material consists of non-representative samples or samples from which we cannot produce a set of analytical chemical data that allows us to make a proper statistical analysis, then the data merely provides us with anecdotal information. Experience as well as studies of large data sets have taught us that poor research material gives us poor understanding and knowledge. We know in advance that some questions will be important in the future. Of these, spatial and temporal changes in environmental contamination are high on the list. What priorities should we set and what kind of selection criteria should we use to create useful collections in the specimen banks? This paper will discuss some of the qualities samples must possess if they are to be included in a specimen bank.