Provision of samples and data
The Biobank of the Public Health System of Andalusia provides all kinds of biological samples and their associated data for research purposes. The samples are selected according to the clinical and diagnostic criteria that the researcher specifies and in the format requested.
The provision of these services is made possible thanks to the existing network of blood banks, tissue banks, cell line banks, and hospital biobanks at multiple centres within the Public Health System of Andalusia (PHSA).
Currently, the Biobank holds more than 900,000 samples and their associated data for various pathologies, including: metabolic alterations, cardiovascular-, respiratory-, genitourinary-, digestive-, neuromuscular-, and mental diseases; and infectious and parasitic diseases and oncological diseases. In addition to this broad catalogue of samples, the Biobank also provides health checks.
In the event that specific samples and their associated data are not immediately available in the Biobank, it is possible to obtain such samples by using one or more of the following tools:
- The Andalusian Registry of Donors of Samples for Biomedical Research of Andalusia, is an initiative by the Ministry of Health which can be used to search for potential donors of samples and associated data.
- Activation of prospective sample collection drives and associated data, according to the specific needs of researchers.
- The National Network of Biobanks of which the PHSA Biobank is a member.
The clinical and health data that is associated with the samples is particularly relevant in certain types of studies (e.g., epidemiological studies) and such data is often demanded by researchers. For this reason, the PHSA Biobank also offers to researchers the data deposited in the Biobank and PHSA information systems and data obtained via ad hoc surveys carried out to obtain specific types of data.
The Services that are offered by the PHSA Biobank include:
Fresh tissue samples
Paraffin-fixed tissue derivatives
Frozen tissue derivatives
Blood and blood derivatives
Body fluids and faeces
Nucleic acids
Cell lines
