BBMRI.PL: THE POLISH BIOBANKING NETWORK – DEVELOPING FAST

The Polish Biobanking Network was initiated in 2017 and the BBMRI.pl team has been busy ever since.

Identifying potential partners

First and foremost, the Medical University of Warsaw continued the identification and acquisition of potential BBMRI partners – the Polish scientific organization having collections of different types of biological material. As a result, around 190 units have been identified and contacted. This would not be possible without constant promotional campaign through the Internet and social media (BBMRI.pl, Biotechnologia.pl, Facebook, Linkedin, pages of Consortium member and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education website) as well as at a vast number of conferences and meetings. Furthermore, we designed an advanced survey tool helping us to collect comprehensive data concerning the identified organizations. This database helped us to build a versatile picture of the Polish institutions that store biological samples.

Forming partnerships

Starting in 2018, representatives of the Medical University of Warsaw made a number of site visits to potential partners, 34 Member Cards were signed and another 24 units expressed their interest to join the Network.

A promotional campaign helped to build positive publicity and awareness of the BBMRI.pl initiative in the Polish scientific community. A few years ago a “biobank” meant something else – a local unit, created to satisfy own needs. Now the word “biobank” means a professionally developed facility responsible for storing a repository of biological material, ready for collaboration with scientific and industrial partners. We have to confess that it is extremely rewarding to hear from the interlocutor – “BBMRI.pl? Yes, I’ve heard about you.”

Find out more about BBMRI.pl here.