Banks of biological material have been established to foster biomedical research. The ethical and legal frameworks of biobanks activities are still under discussion due to their relative recent emergence. Activities of BBM are carried out according to current Czech legislation and ethical standards of biomedical research found in international conventions and recommendations. One of the BBM highest priorities is a protection of biospecimens and donors health data from the potential misuse. Privacy, voluntary donation of biological material and control over the scientific use of samples and data are the main ethical standards BBM is devoted to.

The goal of BBM is to develop into a trustworthy institution with transparent system which can guarantee the ethical standards of biospecimens and data use. Therefore BBM closely cooperates with Ethics Committee of General University Hospital which guarantees the independent ethical governance over BBM activities.

Privacy

Privacy protection is one of the BBM highest priorities. All samples are stripped of all identifying information prior to processing for long-term storage and labelled with a code used also in the database where information about donor’s health is stored. When used in research no identifying information is given to scientists, therefore the donors’ identity always remains anonymous.

Voluntariness

All biospecimens and associated data are stored at BBM upon the consent of their donors which are informed in advance about nature and aim of BBM, conditions of sample and data storage and potential use of samples including genetic research. Potential donors can freely decide about their participation in BBM. Their decision doesn´t affect the health care they receive. Donors can withdraw at any time and their samples will be discarded and associated data removed from BBM database.

Ethics of research

Approval committee reviews received applications to permit the access to the stored samples and data and its use in research. First, ethical aspects of the application are reviewed concerning the use of samples according to BBM ethical standards and aims. The access to the stored samples and data is permitted only when used for research field specified in the donor consent. The following main criteria include the scientific impact and accuracy, credibility and competence of the applicant and the institution where the research will be performed. This way BBM ensures the effective use of biospecimens in research while protecting privacy of donors. If applicable, the review is requested from the Ethics Committee of General University Hospital which guarantees the independent ethical governance over BBM activities.