Biobank

 What is it?

The IRBLleida Biobank is the unit responsible for managing samples and associated data for research purposes. This management encompasses all processes relating to the receipt, processing, storage and release of biological samples to the scientific community, ensuring their quality and traceability at all times, in accordance with current legislation.

In 2013, the biobank was authorised by the Department of Health and is registered in the National Register of Biobanks of the Carlos III Health Institute under reference number B.0000682. It forms part of the Xarxa Catalana de Bancs de Tumors (XBTC) and the Plataforma ISCIII Biomodelos y Biobancos. Recently, the platform has become an observer member of one of the most important platforms at European level, the European Biobank Infrastructure (BBMRI-ERIC). It is affiliated with the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital,, and the Biobank has been certified to the ISO 9001 standard since 2012. 

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What equipment is available?

The biological samples stored in the Biobank originate mainly from the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital and the Santa Maria University Hospital in Lleida. At present, the Biobank stores more than 420,000 biological samples collected from approximately 32,000 donors.

The collection includes tissue samples preserved in OCT, liquid nitrogen or paraffin blocks, as well as peripheral blood, serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pleural fluid and other biological specimens.

Collections

• Oncological diseases (breast, colon, rectal, endometrial, ovarian, kidney, liver, pancreatic, thyroid, lung cancers, etc.)
• Neoplastic diseases of the pleura
• Neurological diseases (stroke, Alzheimer's disease)
• Respiratory diseases (obstructive sleep apnoea, SARS-CoV-2)
• Metabolic diseases (diabetes and morbid obesity)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (coeliac disease)
• Cardiovascular diseases (Health Bus Programme)

The Biobank also participates in an international, prospective, multicentre project aimed at understanding the molecular and genetic basis of cancer.

What services do we offer?

• Supply of biological samples for research projects (some cancer-related samples can be viewed using the search tool).
• Management of projects and collections of human biological samples.
• Ethical, scientific and legal advice on the handling of samples and associated data.
• Molecular techniques (extraction of nucleic acids from blood and blood products, tissues and other sources).
• We also contribute to the catalogue of services created by the ISCIII Biomodels and Biobanks Platform. This includes the animal models available at IRBLleida (which can be viewed in the list).

Please send any requests for sample transfer or management to biobanc@irblleida.cat. 

Members of the biobank external scientific committee

• Rosa Maria Martí Laborda
• Judith Pallarès
• Jordi Tarragona