Biobanks: Obtainment, preservation and utilisation of human biological material - Medical-ethical guidelines and recommendations

摘要

The obtainment, preservation and utilisation of human biological material for training and research, but also for other purposes, have long been common practice. Important technical innovations, especially in the fields of human genetics and electronic data processing, today make it possible to collect and compare biological material and personal data obtained from it on a large scale. In this way, important new epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic knowledge can now be obtained, which was not possible with the research tools available up till now. Biobanks can thus contribute to an important advance in the further development of medical research, particularly in the health-care sector, but also in the whole field of human sciences.