biorepository
Meaning of biorepository: A biorepository is a facility that collects and preserves biological samples for future research rather than for direct patient care.
Definition of biorepository
A biorepository, also called a biobank, is a facility that collects, processes, and stores biological samples, such as blood, urine, tissue, cells, DNA, and RNA, taken from humans, animals, or plants for use in future research rather than for the direct care of the person the sample came from. Samples are typically stored under carefully controlled conditions, such as freezing, to preserve them for long term use.
When samples are collected from people, a biorepository generally also stores linked medical information and requires written consent from the person for their samples to be used in research, along with protections intended to keep that information secure and appropriately limited in how it can be used.
Biorepositories support a wide range of research, allowing scientists to study samples collected over long periods or from large numbers of people without needing to recruit new participants for every individual study.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
A blood sample was collected and sent to the biorepository as part of the research study.
Good to know
Samples stored in a biorepository are collected for future research use rather than for the immediate clinical care of the person providing them, a distinction that shapes the consent process involved.
Word origin
Where “biorepository” comes from
Formed from Greek bios, meaning life, combined with repository, from Latin reponere, meaning to put back or store.