Biobanking in the 21st Century

Wilson, Harriet, Botfield, Ben, Speirs, Valerie, Harriet Wilson, Ben Botfield, Valerie Speirs

The importance of accessing high quality clinical samples for translational research is now firmly recognised. Traditionally these samples were collected and curated by individuals with an interest in a particular disease type. In recent years the idea of centralising and storing tissue collections in the form of tissue banks or biobanks has developed. As a result a number of biobanks have been established in many different countries. These can be either single centres or multi centre collaborations, often in the form of a federated network. This chapter outlines the development of breast tissue banking in a global context and discusses some of the challenges that lie ahead for the field, in particular how to meet the growing needs of researchers, how to make the best use of donated samples and how to increase the visibility of samples residing in biobanks to researchers.