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2009-05-19 Poland: Biobank to be created in Poland

Poland is preparing to launch the first biobank In the country. The initiative follows the example of some other European countries – biobanks already exist in Iceland, Sweden, Great Britain, Spain and Estonia.

Biobanks gain more and more popularity throughout the world as they enable faster and more robust research in the health-related field. The main goal of banking different types of specimens is to shorten the time of disease screening and curing. One of the biobank’s activities is providing scientists with biological material and data for investigation.

Polish biobank – coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education – is going to be a step forward to meeting European standards. The country still has to adjust the law according to the OECD and the Council of Europe’s requirements. Having fulfilled those, Poland will be able to join the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI) created as a part of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Moreover, Poland the country will become eligible for FP7 funding to further support the project.

Kamila Klamecka