Biospecimens and Biobanking in Global Health

Clin Lab Med. 2018 Mar;38(1):183-207. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2017.10.015. Epub 2017 Dec 24.

Abstract

Biobanks provide a critical infrastructure to support research in human health. Biospecimens and their accompanying data are increasingly needed to support biomedical research and clinical care. The original text was initially published in the Handbook for Cancer Research in Africa. The value of this publication is great as it underlines the importance of biobanks in Africa as a key resource to increase quality scientific research and participate in global health research. Therefore, a revision to extend these principles to other low resource contexts, to include updated material and references and add the topic of biobank sustainability were relevant.

Keywords: Biobanks; Biospecimens; Catalogs; Data; Information technology; Pathology; Tissue; Utilization.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biological Specimen Banks*
  • Biomedical Research*
  • Global Health*
  • Humans
  • Medical Informatics
  • Pathology
  • Specimen Handling