Re-utilization of clinical laboratory patient-derived samples

Our hospital has traditionally placed a portion of Clinical Laboratories patient-derived samples into temporary storage for purposes of re-examination. Occasionally, following a brief review, a part of these samples were provided not only for research but also for quality control. However, recent trends to protect confidential personal information have made it difficult to offer patient-derived samples to those who perform research and quality control even after a strict and complicated review of their requests. Because of recent progresses in the various "-omics" such as genomics, proteomics, and/or metabolomics, a strong need of patient-derived samples for research exists. Therefore, we have developed and, since 2002, provided a "Bio Sample Bank" to smoothly and efficiently expedite provision of patient-derived samples for research and quality control purposes. So far we have collected more than 130,000 samples. We wish to disclose our experiences concerning this bank and to develop interest in the importance of our system and its significant benefits to clinical procedures and patients.