Biobanks

Field of work

When you have a blood test, provide a urine sample, or take a cheek swab, the material can also be stored after testing. This happens in a biobank: a kind of “treasure trove” for bodily material. Here, it is carefully processed and stored, often in large freezers at extremely low temperatures.

Many biobanks are part of hospitals and are used for scientific research. Your material can only be placed in a biobank with your permission. Biobanks intended for scientific research can be accredited, so researchers can be sure they can perform reliable analyses years later. Accreditation expresses trust that the label of a particular material is accurate, that it has been handled correctly, and stored at the correct temperature.

The standard for biobanks is a new accreditation standard at the RvA. Once the first medical biobanks are accredited, we will focus on accreditation of biobanks with non-human material. This includes, for example, biobanks with plants, animal material, or microorganisms.

Accreditation

The RvA accredits biobanks based on the ISO 20387 standard.

Further information?

You can use the search engine or consult the list of accredited bodies to find details of all medical laboratories accredited by the RvA. ASR112 accreditation of biobanks describes the areas of work in the field of biobanks.