Biobanks are sites which collect samples of bodily fluids and/or tissues in an organized manner. Biobanks store these samples on a large or small scale in order to provide samples to researchers. These centers are crucial in research, for they provide the specimens which are needed to be studied to make advancements in treatments, drug developments, interventions, and preventative measures.
There are several types of biobanks. Including population-based, DNA/RNA focused, project-driven, commercial, and virtual. Each of these biobanks focus on collecting a different type of samples, but all have the same goal – provide samples to different studies to better understand how a specific biospecimen may influence overall health and wellness.
As of 2022, there are around 306 registered biobanks globally. Out of the 306, only 10 are located in Africa. This problem of underrepresentation leads to inequitable opportunities for African participants to participate in donations for biobanks. With this being so, there is a lack of scientific knowledge on how the genetic diversity of the African population is influenced by specific interventions, preventions, or treatments. In the end the problem here is developing the right healthcare and medicine for a specific population.
At Infiuss Health, we have made it a part of our mission to solve this problem. We are doing this by connecting with on-the-ground sites in Africa and arranging biospecimen collections with researchers globally. Our goal in this is to help contribute to the pivotal changes of treatments, drug development, interventions, and preventative measures in African health care.