Australians want to biobank

Creating biobanks for future research is sometimes debated as if such investments seriously threatened sample donors’ integrity.

In Sweden, the Data Inspection Board even decided that it is against the law to collect biological samples and personal health data “for future research.” Participants cannot give their consent to anything that vague, they argued.

This distrustfulness may be out of touch with public perceptions, however, judging from a recent Australian study. The Australian researchers report “a high level of trust in university biobanks” and “a strong willingness to participate in biobank research.”

Don’t people know one cannot trust anything that vague?

Pär Segerdahl