Last week, our research team embarked on a study titled “Service availability and readiness assessment for establishing biobanks of patient left-over samples from routine healthcare provision in Uganda”. Selected private healthcare facilities were visited to assess the current practices with left-over samples and the attitude, willingness and acceptability of stakeholders towards bio banking. This study was conducted in collaboration with the Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health (CADH) and the Uganda Healthcare Federation (UHF), and it was funded by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).
A biobank is a collection of biological specimens and associated information intended for research and public health purposes, such as disease surveillance. Biobanks have the potential to accelerate research by ensuring that high-quality bio specimens from patients are available to foster scientific research and collaboration, as well as to improve healthcare and public health outcomes.
Biobanks enable the study of local disease patterns, the development of targeted interventions for prevalent health issues, and the facilitation of research collaborations with international institutions. They also improve access to quality healthcare and contribute to a deeper understanding of African populations through genetic research, particularly for diseases that are uniquely prevalent in the region.