The role of biobanks in paediatric biomedical research

A new study published in the European Journal of Pediatrics explores the role paediatric biobanks can play in overcoming some of the challenges to improving biomedical research for children. Particularly in the case of rare diseases, which constitute the majority of paediatric disorders, data- and sample-sharing are key aspects of conducting research, and can be facilitated through the use of biobanks.

In paediatrics, researchers face a unique set of ethical and legal barriers, particularly with regards to data protection and informed consent. It is nevertheless important to include children in biomedical research, as their physiology is distinct from that of adults and they may respond differently to treatments and medications. In response to these challenges, paediatric biobanks have been proposed as a tool which can augment sample sizes, identify potential research participants, and provide personalised diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. They have proven to be particularly effective tools for improving research in paediatric oncology, where it has been determined that there are genetic differences between childhood cancers and their adult counterparts.

There are a number of issues which must be addressed in the development of child-specific biobanks. In addition to the ethical and legal challenges mentioned above, these include difficulties associated with the processing of small volumes of samples by internationally-recognised standardised procedures; a lack of healthy control samples; accessibility of data from omics experiments according to FAIR data principles; long-term economic sustainability; and the inclusion of children from a diverse range of ethnic and geographical backgrounds.

More information can be found here.