The IRBLleida’s Biobank is the unit in charge of the central management of human samples and associated personal data for research purposes. Biobank’s tasks are focused on the procurement, storage, management and distribution of large collections of human biological samples for the scientific community, guaranteeing the quality of samples at each single step. Thus, the Biobank is devoted to promote, facilitate and perform collaborative biomedical research using human biological samples in accordance with the current Spanish legislation.

The Biobank started its activity as a bank of cancer tumors, due to a special action of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science in 2004 (SAF2002-10529-E; PI: Xavier Matias-Guiu). In 2008, Carlos III Institute of Health (ISCIII) granted our biobank with another specific action (Adaptation, maintenance and improvement of biobanks of NHS, resolution 7th November 2008; PI: Xavier Matias-Guiu). This action involved the biobank team with the collection of samples of biological liquids (blood, serum, plasma, DNA, etc) for different research projects. In 2009, ISCIII promoted the creation of stable networks in order to boost cooperative research activity in several areas considered strategic for the Sapnish NHS as well as to promote a better positioning of our country in the European Research Area in those fields. IRBLleida’s biobank thus participated in this starting biobanks’s network (RETBioH; RD09/0076/00059; PI: Xavier Matias-Guiu). Recently, the IRBLleida’s biobank joined the Spanish Biobanks Platform, (PT13/0010/0014; IP: Xavier Matias-Guiu).
Furthermore, IRBLleida’s Biobank is member of the regional Tumor Banc Network of Catalonia (XBTC) and the Spanish Biobanks Network (RNB).

According to its commitment with quality assurance, the IRBLleida’s Biobank obtained the quality certification UNE EN ISO 9001:2008, in June 2012. The Biobank was also authorized for Department of Health of Catalonia in April 29 2013 and entered in the National Register of Biobanks of ISCIII with reference B.0000682.
IRBLleida Biobank is coordinated and assigned to the Ethics Committee of the Clinical Research in the University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova of Lleida.

Members of External Scientific Committee of Biobank:
1) Dra. Judith Pallarès
2) Dr. Jordi Tarragona
3) Dra. Rosa Mª Martí Laborda
4) Dr. Joan Viñas

PLATFORM SERVICES
1) Management of research projects or new collections
2) Ethical, scientific and legal advice for samples and associated data entire treatment (procurement, processing and storage)
3) Cession of human biological samples for research projects previously approved by External Committees (Ethical and Scientific).
4) Quality control of biological samples (DNA and RNA)
5) Processing of frozen tissues
6) Molecular techniques (nucleic acid extraction from peripheral blood, frozen and paraffin embedded tissue)
7) Histological Staining

Please, send to biobanc@irblleida.cat your application for biological samples adquisition or management.