Broad Guidance Needed to Aid Biobank Sample Stewardship

Results of a recently released survey found that most biobanks do not maintain ongoing relationships with specimen contributors, but they do practice good stewardship over storage and sharing of specimens for research. The authors of the paper, published Dec. 11, 2013, in Science Translational Medicine, say that biobanks need better guidance emphasizing stewardship practices throughout the life cycle of specimens in order to achieve the delicate balance of respecting contributors while advancing research. “Within the context of rapidly expanding genomic and bioinformatic capacities and the rise of next-generation biorepository research, challenges remain in obtaining consent, protecting participant privacy, and maintaining public trust,” writes lead author Gail Henderson, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “One response to these challenges is greater emphasis on the stewardship model of governance.” Emerging models indicate that going forward there will be broader responsibilities for biobanks and more complex research relationships than previously experienced.  But despite talk of the need for a stewardship model that encompasses the lifespan of biological specimens – from donation through research use – empirical evidence is scarce for how voluntary stewardship is executed in actual practice. In order to identify trends in implementation of stewardship practices, the University […]