Welcome, Global Biobanks!

BBMRI-ERIC invites any biobanks around the globe that are offering samples and datasets available for COVID-19-related research to register their applicable collections on the BBMRI-ERIC Directory. BBMRI-ERIC is thrilled to be collaborating with ISBER, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories, as a use case to expand the BBMRI-ERIC Directory in order to bring together biobanks within and beyond Europe in one convenient location.

How to list your biobank on the BBMRI-ERIC Directory

1. If you haven’t already, please fill out this input form to have your biobank listed under the BBMRI-ERIC Directory. Then someone from the BBMRI-ERIC IT team will get in touch about transferring data.
2. You can familiarize yourself with our Directory and its new COVID-19 filters here. Incoming biobank collections will be listed and filtered by country and other filters to the left.
3. In order to track requests, it is necessary to then register your biobank under our Negotiator after successful listing in the Directory. The Negotiator is a communication platform for biobankers and researchers requesting samples and/or data. If you do not complete this step, requests will not reach you! Follow the instructions for registering with the Negotiator. (The instructions may look daunting, but once you have successfully logged in the first time we promise it will be easy to use from then on!)
4. Privacy and GDPR: The BBMRI-ERIC Privacy Policy can be viewed here. Please note that all information listed under our Directory (e.g. name and location of biobank) is public information. Requests sent through the Negotiator are visible only to select BBMRI-ERIC personnel and are subject to GDPR. Please also read the BBMRI-ERIC Access Policy.

After registering

1. Congratulations! Once you are registered, your biobank will be visible to researchers in Europe and around the world. Make sure your contact information is correct in order to be notified of requests.
2. Follow-up: We want to ensure the success of this collaboration and hope that it will increase the number of samples used for important research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. Therefore, we will follow up with your biobank to ask for data on number of requests, and those that led to projects. We hope that some researchers will be willing to share information on their project upon completion, as well.
3. Publications and Acknowledgements: Subsequent publications should mention BBMRI-ERIC, including any tools (e.g. BBMRI-ERIC Negotiator) used. Relevant biobanks should also be acknowledged. Publications arising from ISBER-affiliated biobanks should mention BBMRI-ERIC and ISBER.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Thank you for connecting with BBMRI-ERIC in order to make new treatments possible!