Millions of organic human samples in new biobank
Antwerp’s university and hospital have stored six million samples of human material in a biobank, available for research to scientists worldwide
‘Priceless’
Biobank Antwerpen will process and store a wide range of human body material such as blood and DNA. It already holds some six million samples from more than 8,000 patients.
This includes tissue that remains after doctors carry out diagnostic research or interventions, but most of the samples will be gathered prospectively, by patients who consent to donating extra blood samples or other material during medical procedures.
Give and receive
“The hospital’s ethics committee monitors the correct use of this material,” UZA managing director Johnny Van der Straeten said. “Via partnerships, we also receive material from the rest of Belgium and around the world.”
The samples in the biobank will only be used for scientific research purposes. UZA and UAntwerp are both committed to the continuous improvement of health care, meaning samples of human tissues are “priceless”, according to professor Ronny Blust, UAntwerp’s vice-rector for research.
“Thanks to the analysis of human material,” said Blust, “we can continue to innovate and develop new techniques and therapies that will benefit patients in the future.”
In the case of incidental discoveries, the patient or their doctor can be informed
Investigators around the world can request samples from the biobank. For example, if a researcher wants to unravel the role of a genetic marker in bowel cancer, they can request tissue from the tumour of patients with that specific gene mutation.
The samples will only be provided if approved by the ethics committee or the biobank’s advice council, which will examine each request. “Of course, the samples will be kept with respect for privacy,” said co-ordinator Manon Huizing. “Details about the sample and the patient will be stored in code. Only the investigator concerned will be able to link the sample to the patient via a code table, so that in the case of incidental discoveries, the patient or their doctor can be informed.”
The biobank uses a fully automated storage system that guarantees a continuous temperature. Different samples need to be stored at different temperatures, and the biobank can go up to 150°C and all the way down to -196°C. The walls are filled with liquid nitrogen, and, if the power fails, emergency generators ensure that the temperature remains stable.
Photo courtesy Biobank Antwerpen
