It takes into account new developments in the field of biobanking, such as the increasingly diverse origin of biological materials stored in collections, the difficulty to guarantee non-identifiability of such samples, the increasing amount of research involving materials coming from different collections, and the importance of research on biomaterials removed from persons not able to consent.
The purpose of these new recommendations is to spell out and safeguard fundamental rights of the persons whose biological materials are intended for biomedical research. Their dignity, integrity and privacy must be guaranteed, while at the same time the researchers should benefit from the access to biological materials.
The new legal instrument sets out the conditions for obtaining and storing materials for future research as well as for using them in specific research projects, in particular regarding appropriate information and consent of the persons concerned.
