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Biobank / Sample Repository

vr.wm-liv-024 · wm-liv-024-biobank-sample-repository

Institutional collection with consent, access and retention governance

World Models Physical world and living systems PHY.LIV.REP
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

3 bundles · 3 layers · 6 findings · 12 questions

Collection What the repository holds and how it is kept.

Holdings and storage

Sample types, counts and storage conditions.

Holdings

The sample types and collections held, with counts and origins.

  1. Which sample types and collections does the repository hold, and how many?
  2. From which studies, populations or species were the samples collected?

Storage quality

Storage conditions and the quality of samples over time.

  1. Under which storage conditions are samples kept, and is temperature monitored?
  2. Is pre-analytical information such as time to processing recorded per sample?
Governance Under which consent and rules samples may be used.

Consent and oversight

Donor consent, ethics oversight and legal basis.

Consent scope

The uses donors agreed to and how withdrawal is handled.

  1. What uses did donors consent to, broad or specific?
  2. How is withdrawal of consent recorded and carried out on samples and data?

Oversight

The ethics and governance bodies overseeing the repository.

  1. Which ethics committee or governance board oversees access decisions?
  2. Is the repository accredited or certified against a biobanking standard?
Access and retention Who may use samples and for how long they are kept.

Access and disposal

Access requests, transfers and end of retention.

Access decision

A request for samples or data with its approval and transfer agreement.

  1. Was this access request approved, and under which material transfer agreement?
  2. Are results and derived data required to be returned to the repository?

Retention end

Retention periods and destruction or transfer of samples.

  1. What retention period applies to the samples, and what happens when it ends?
  2. How is destruction or transfer of samples documented?

Classifiers Filled

Family
World Models
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
standalone-mm
Navigation path
NAV.PHY.LIV.REP
Domain
PHY.LIV.REP
Industry
Cross-industry
Tags
biobanksamplerepositoryphy.liv.rep

What it is Filled

A biobank or sample repository is an institutional collection of biological samples and associated data, kept under governance for consent, access and retention. The class covers the repository as an organized collection with its storage, consent and access rules; single samples, the donors and the research that uses the samples are separate subjects.

Why it exists Filled

Institutional collection with consent, access and retention governance

Distinguishing features Filled

  • It is the governed collection as a whole, not a single specimen or the donor.
  • Consent, access and retention rules are part of the subject, not an add-on to storage.
  • It differs from a laboratory freezer inventory, which tracks storage without governance.
  • It differs from natural history or seed collections where human consent does not apply, though access and benefit-sharing rules may.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Release samples or linked data for a use outside donor consent.
  • Re-identify donors or link sample data to identities without authorization.
  • Destroy samples before the end of retention or without a documented decision.
  • Approve access requests on behalf of the governance body.

Only with a human decision

  • Approving access to samples and linked data.
  • Accepting a new collection into the repository.
  • Destroying or transferring collections at the end of retention or on closure.

May

  • Search the catalogue for available samples and their consent scope.
  • Prepare access requests and transfer documentation for review.
  • Monitor storage conditions and alert on deviations.
  • Record withdrawals of consent and mark affected samples.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Donors trust that samples will be used only within their consent and that their privacy is protected.
  • Benefits from research on samples should be shared fairly with donor communities.
  • Withdrawal of consent must be honoured as far as technically possible.

Who is affected

  • Sample donors and their families
  • Donor communities and populations
  • Researchers requesting access
  • Ethics committees and regulators

Owners Filled

Steward

The host institution of the repository, acting through a biobank manager and a governance or access committee.

Master systems

  • Laboratory information management systems
  • Biobank catalogues and directories
  • Consent management systems

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • WM-LIV-023

contains

  • WM-LIV-023

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • A repository is identified by the host institution and an identifier in a biobank directory where it is registered.
  • Samples within it carry local sample identifiers, often printed as barcodes on tubes.

Direct properties required Filled

  • Storage temperature in degrees Celsius, monitored continuously for each storage unit.
  • Sample volume in millilitres or mass in milligrams, and the number of aliquots.
  • Number of freeze-thaw cycles per sample.
  • Time from collection to processing and to freezing in minutes or hours, as pre-analytical conditions.

Recognition required Filled

  • A repository is recognized by storage infrastructure, labelled sample containers, a catalogue and an access policy.
  • Often confused with a clinical diagnostic laboratory or a research group's private freezer.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • Provides samples and linked data to approved research under defined terms.
  • Preserves samples for long periods under controlled conditions.
  • Tracks consent status and chain of custody for each sample.

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Loss of samples through freezer failure or power outage.
  • Exposure of staff to infectious material when handling samples.
  • Privacy breach through re-identification of donors from linked data.

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • ISO 20387 for biobanking requirements.
  • MIABIS minimum information for describing biobanks and sample collections.
  • Material transfer agreements for sample transfers.

Context of use required Filled

  • Hosted by hospitals, universities and research infrastructures for medical and biological research.
  • Human sample biobanks fall under data protection and research ethics law; non-human collections may fall under the Nagoya Protocol.

Sources Filled

  1. ISO 20387 Biotechnology - Biobanking - General requirements for biobanking, ISO
  2. ISBER Best Practices for Repositories, International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories
  3. OECD Guidelines on Human Biobanks and Genetic Research Databases, OECD

Open questions

  • Planned model: boundary questions, research and every section remain to be written.

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification AGENTS.md Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

planned (registry candidate) · todo

Built from: models/runtime-index.json, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-liv-024-biobank-sample-repository.json

Planned entry, hidden from the catalogue until researched.