Molecular Medicine Ireland is delighted to announce the publication of its Guidelines for Standardised Biobanking which have been internationally peer reviewed and published in the most recent edition of ISBER Biopreservation and Biobanking, 2010. 8;1: 3-63 (link: www.liebertonline.com/toc/bio/8/1). MMI has developed these guidelines to standardise the collection, processing and storage of biological materials donated for use in research as a contribution towards a strategic, national approach to biobanking. The Guidelines build on the work undertaken by MMI in preparing the Design Phase of GeneLibrary Ireland. The aim of the Guidelines is to ensure sample quality, consistency and integrity of bio-collections at different clinical and research centres in Ireland. The availability of high quality standardised collections of biospecimens with linked phenotypic data would add significant value to Ireland’s research and innovation agenda, a particular example being the biomarker pipeline.

Dr Damian O’Connell, Chair of the Board of Molecular Medicine Ireland commented that ‘a strategic approach to standardised biobanking is a key pillar for clinical and translational research in Ireland’. He thanked Dr Peter Doran, Principal Investigator of the Design Phase of GeneLibrary Ireland who proposed the Guidelines and Dr Jan Guerin, Progamme Manager for Research for her work in compiling the Guidelines. He also acknowledged the other members of the Drafting Group; Ms Mary McGrath and Dr David Murray, UCD CRC, Dr Joe McPartlin, Trinity Biobank who gave their time generously and shared their expertise in drafting the Guidelines.

Dr Peter Doran, Director of the UCD CRC said that ‘the use of standardised protocols for sample collection, processing and storage will help to ensure consistency and harmonisation across the different clinical and research sites in Ireland’.

Dr Jan Guerin, who led the development of these Guidelines said that ‘these standard procedures have been drafted with reference to international best practice in biobanking and reflect the collective experience of MMI partners engaged in biobanking’. Dr Guerin added that ‘the publication of these guidelines in ISBER’s Biopreservation and Biobanking journal, following international peer review, is an important benchmark of their quality and provides a strong argument for their adoption nationally’.

Prof. H.-Erich Wichmann, Director and Chair of Epidemiology at the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Zentrum München and Chair of BBMRI’s Work Package on Disease Oriented Biobanks stated that ‘Molecular Medicine Ireland has made an important step in developing SOPs which will be instrumental in standardising biobanking in Europe and in BBMRI’. He added that ‘BBMRI is happy to accept them as a first version of the BBMRI laboratory manual’ in his guest editor piece for this edition of ISBER Biopreservation and Biobanking.

MMI is working with the research funding agencies; hospitals and clinical research centres; clinical networks and disease groups; ethics committees and patient organisations to have the Guidelines adopted for all new collections of biological material. If the Guidelines are adopted in this way, MMI will have taken a significant step towards a more strategic approach to biobanking in Ireland and ensuring a greater return for public investment in biobanking.

The MMI Guidelines on Standardised Biobanking are available to purchase at €10 per copy, please contact Jan Guerin at jan.guerin@molecularmedicineireland.ie if you would like to purchase a copy.

MMI is currently developing an electronic library of standard operating procedures for biobanking which will be launched shortly.