In just one year of operation, the CHAIN Biobank collected 769 samples, including whole blood, serum, and plasma from 71 patients. This brings the total to over 41,000 available samples from more than 11,000 participants, used in research on chronic and infectious diseases.
“Biobanks are research support infrastructures that process, organize, preserve, and distribute human biological samples and clinical data, such as blood and tissues, working as central repositories to facilitate researchers’ access to essential resources for biomedical studies,” explains Maria Assunção, technical coordinator of the CHAIN Biobank. This work is made possible by the voluntary donation of samples by the public - an act of generosity with a direct impact on everyone’s health.
In fact, there is an active role that we can all play in research by donating biological material such as blood and its derivatives, urine, feces, cerebrospinal fluid, aqueous humor, and other bodily fluids, as well as solid samples - kidney stones, hair, and various tissues resulting from scheduled surgical procedures that would otherwise be discarded. “Samples and health data can be stored anonymously, in compliance with current legislation and ethical principles, and can lead to answers about the best therapy for each patient and new solutions for several diseases,” notes the specialist.
One example is the work carried out at NOVA Medical School in the field of hereditary retinal diseases, a group of rare, mostly incurable, and heterogeneous eye disorders that lead to blindness. “Establishing a biobank collection focused on these diseases, creating high-quality resources, is a valuable tool for driving research. The collection includes whole blood, plasma, serum, and urine, and will be complemented with samples from planned eye surgeries (aqueous humor, vitreous humor, anterior lens capsule, etc.).”
Following the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), the biobank ensures that data is organized in an accessible and standardized manner, encouraging collaboration between institutions and accelerating innovative scientific discoveries. Donor privacy is always guaranteed through a rigorous data coding and protection system, ensuring complete anonymity at all stages of the process.
Despite the progress, biobanks face challenges such as financial sustainability and the need for adequate infrastructure. Overcoming these challenges requires ongoing community support and constant alignment between scientific interests and population needs. Here, individual participation makes a difference. Contributing with a simple sample donation can lead to a future with faster diagnoses, more effective treatments, and a fairer, more accessible science for all.