Background
BioBanks are an essential tool to enable effective genetics-related health research, and are likely to be increasingly important particularly for disease with a genetic element such as cancer. The current approach to biospecimen storage in NSW is ad hoc, compared with collaborative approaches in Victoria and WA, but really requires an Australia-wide approach given the greater utility of larger datasets. We recommended Cancer Council NSW / Sax Institute should lead a campaign to establish an Australian BioBank Foundation, with an initial focus on NSW researchers.
Proposed BioBank Strategy
The proposed BioBank mission is to: “Create a sustainable Australian Biobank which supports health research to prevent disease and improve health outcomes by providing commons access to high quality biospecimens.”
We recommended the BioBank focus on 4 strategies:
- Research – provide Australian health researchers with easy access to biospecimens and ensure future viability of biospecimens to enable significant research advances
- Fundraising – raise funds to collect, store and access CCNSW and Sax samples for the next 10 years and develop a sustainable cost-recovery / revenue model (and potentially subsidise costs for other external groups)
- Infrastructure – create a state-of-the-art Biobank facility with capacity to process, store and distribute blood from CCNSW & Sax collections (and potentially other external groups)
- Advocacy – promote collaboration among existing biobanks / research groups to improve economies of scale and avoid duplication.
How to Assist
CCNSW would like to meet philanthropists and others interested in contributing to this project.
Getting a Copy:
Please send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information. Alternatively, you can download this article to view the full submission
