FAQ

The BBMRI.nl community is the community of professionals in the Netherlands who work as a facilitator and/or researcher in the broadest sense for bio-(data-)banks and collections involved in, amongst others, activities in biobanks, databanks, cohort studies, and registries. 

A biobank (or databank) is defined according to ISO20387:2020 as the organization and/or infrastructure surrounding one or more (parts of) collections. A biobank is a legal entity or part of a legal entity that carries out the activity of biobanking where biobanking is the process of acquisition and storage along with some or all of the activities related to the collection, preparation, preservation, testing, analysis and distribution of defined biological material, as well as related data. Databanks focus on the acquisition and storage of data without additional biological material. Bio- and databanks are often combined and can be organized at the level of collections, departments or care institutions. 

BBMRI.nl offers researchers who want to start a (multicenter) collection a step-by-step guide including links to necessary documents. Please contact your regional Biobanks coordinator and see this link for more information. 

A collection (or cohort) is defined according to ISO20387:2020 as a structured and delineated collection of biological material and/or data intended for multiple (scientific) studies, which is facilitated by a bio-/database. Collections can focus on (groups within) the population or on citizens with clinical problems (patients). For clinical collections, materials/data can be collected within healthcare (further use) or de novo as well as within one or more institutions. 

Data relate to both the donor and the bodily materials belonging to a collection. The following distinction is made here: 

• Data from electronic patient files: data that is already available/collected in the context of regular care (diagnosis and/or treatment). 
• Extra data: data that has been specially collected for the benefit of a collection. 
• Sample data: data relating to human biological material belonging to a collection (including details regarding purchase, processing, storage, and/or distribution). 

Human biological material comprises all bodily materials that are collected by biobanks, including tissue, blood, urine, feces, hair, etc., and their derivates, such as DNA, serum, and plasma. Depending on the purchasing, human biological material can be divided into:

• Residual material: biological material that is already available/collected in the context of regular care (diagnosis and/or treatment); 
• Extra material: biological material that has been specially collected for biobanks and collections.