Glasgow Biorepository wins ‘benchmark’ biobanking accreditation

The Biorepository, based on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, stores and provides access to a wide range of human tissue for use in valuable medical research by doctors and scientists who are studying a range of diseases, including cancer, autoinflammatory diseases and Alzheimer’s. The team of 13 handles around 90 requests for tissues per year, from academic and commercial medical researchers.

UKAS head of development Louise Sanders described ISO 20387 as “a critical benchmark for the scientific and medical research fields” and the only holistic framework for assessing and maintaining consistent quality control and integrity in every aspect of biobanking.

“Accreditation to ISO 20387 demonstrates the impartiality, operational competence and the embedding of best practices throughout biobanking operations,” she explained.

“Not only does this give confidence to stakeholders and researchers in the quality, reliability and usability of biomedical materials, it makes an important contribution to the broader scientific and medical research communities.”

ISO covers the collection, transportation, preparation, preservation and traceability of human, animal, plant, fungal and microorganism samples.