Biobank Ireland spreads the message very widely that biobanking is essential for developing new diagnostic tests and treatments for those with cancer and other serious medical diseases. We are in constant communication with and actively seek the co-operation and participation of everyone – patient groups, hospital staff and management, professional bodies, pharmaceutical company personnel, international colleagues, celebrities, members of the public, the media and politicians – to help maximise Ireland’s resources for translational research in a properly resourced Irish Biobank and Informatics Network. All agree this is the only way we can hope to achieve patient-focused research success in a small country hitherto lacking in the required infrastructure.
We liaise with key personnel from Irish hospitals and encourage them to become involved in setting up strategically important new hospital biobanks. We make it clear that trust and sharing are key to the initiative: we are talking about biobanks as hospital facilities which will share samples and data with researchers in other institutions. Those who look after the tissues are honest brokers (neutral, with no bias or vested interest in individual projects), and ensure that donors’ samples are put to the best possible use. Those who direct and operate modern biobanks have a dual mandate: they must remain committed to patients’ rights, while simultaneously serving the needs of biomedical researchers. They form a bridge of responsibility between research and care.
Central to the network ethos is the principle of fair access to all researchers with approved projects. All procedures and database data are standardized across the hospitals. To provide salaries for biobank personnel, we raise funds from all potential sources. No funds have been made available by government as yet, although Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney TD published the Expert Group’s Report in May 2009.