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Human and non-human biological samples are collected by facilities for biobanking under the appropriate ethical guidelines of their institution. Consideration is given to the collection method, processing, and storage of these samples to ensure their use in a maximum number of research projects. The use of human biological samples in research comes under the governance of the institution where the project is carried out.
Existing guidelines and best practice for biological specimen collection and storage are available (see here for a list Standard Operating Procedures).
While some biobanks may collect samples for a specific study or on-going projects, others collect samples for unspecified future research (utilising a generic consent, for human samples) and these samples can be made available on application for researchers with ethically approved projects.
Non-human biobank samples are made available on application with each biobank.