(2021) (with Vlantoni Katerina) “Biobanking: diverse practices and challenges”, BioGovernance Commons Reading group, VooV Meeting, 22 September 2021. (original) (raw)

There seems to be no settled definition of biobanks. One commonly used describes them as organised collections of biological samples and associated data. Biobanks offer a site of interaction between the public, patients, researchers, physicians, bioinformaticians, regulators, policy makers and companies. The relationships between these actors are not always smooth. Debates over biobanking design and practices are rather frequent. The governance of biobanks is a complex process "since the domains of science and technology, healthcare, economy, law as much as the public administration each operate according to different logics and emphasize different values or motives to different degrees", according to Gottweis & Lauss. Challenges in the governance of biobanks:  The multitude of options regarding the institutional forms of biobanks, and their mode of governance. The same applies for the diversity in regulatory frameworks, especially in relation to the interplay of national and transnational practices that have emerged.  Following that, the emergence of a need for harmonization and common standards regarding the quality of data (and samples) with reference to an envisaged potential to share them, for the benefit of research.  Different ways to engage citizens-depending on local setting and existing practices.  At a broader level, the institutional setting comes in relation to the national view on biobanking projects (biologic material as national resource, a national DNA repository) and their positioning in the bioeconomy, meaning their relation to economic development.

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