Biospecimen quality program in the biobank of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Background: The biological material collected, processed and stored in biobanks are important research tools and it is important to minimize preanalytical variations to provide researchers with high quality biolo-gical material that will give reproducible results. Methods: To minimize the preanalytical variations caused by sample collection, processing and storage, we have established a biospecimen quality program. It consists of quality assurance aspects as well as qua-lity control programs to measure adherence to protocols and sample integrity. The quality control program includes measurements and evaluation of the DNA quality and quantity before storage, i.e. concentration, purity, fragmentation and PCR success, and long term storage programs for plasma, urine and RNA. Conclusions: The Biobank at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health has established a biospecimen quality program that ensures high quality specimens and provides the documentation required to use the biomaterial in a best possible way