LU konferencePresent day, research biobanks - collections of biological samples of human origin and related information - are needed to reach high-level scientific results in biomedicine and public health. The goal of the project is to promote the development of ethical and socially responsible research biobank management in Latvia, based on an analysis of the opinions of society, donors and scientists. The goal will be achieved through a representative public survey on biobank treatment, a survey of biobanks' donors and scientists. In-depth qualitative interviews with biobank donors and scientists will also be carried out. In surveys and interviews, special attention will be paid to exploring the ethical aspects of bio-banking management (informed consent, data security, use of historical collections, reporting of individual results, publication of research results, etc.).
The research will be carried out by an interdisciplinary research group consisting of the two largest biobanks of Latvia at the moment, involving experts from different sectors - ethics, sociology, anthropology, statistics, public health and biobanks. The project team is led by Leading Researcher of KPMI Signe Mežinska. Baseing on the results of the research an interdisciplinary approach will allow to develop sustainable recommendations for policy makers on the development of ethical and socially responsible, public interests relevant, biobanks management in Latvia.