Regional
Biobanks in transfusion medicine: From silent repositories to strategic research platforms
Mélanie Dieudé
Medical Affairs and Innovation, Héma‑Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Pierre Tiberghien
Établissement Français du Sang, La Plaine St Denis, France
Marc Germain
Medical Affairs and Innovation, Héma‑Québec, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Biobanks underpin modern biomedical research, from cancer genomics to precision medicine.¹ In transfusion medicine, however, biobanking has remained comparatively fragmented and underused. Despite the routine collection of vast numbers of standardized biospecimens across blood operators and hospitals, transfusion‑relevant biobanks are still insufficiently leveraged for research, quality improvement, and public health insight.²
This underuse has ethical and scientific consequences. Blood donors contribute altruistically, often repeatedly over many years, with an expectation that their donations will advance knowledge and care. When samples are stored without clear pathways to use, much of their potential value is lost. The challenge today is therefore not whether samples can be banked, but whether biobanking is designed and stewarded to generate impact.
Why Transfusion Medicine Biobanks Are Different
Transfusion medicine occupies a unique position within healthcare systems. Blood services engage repeatedly with large populations of generally healthy donors, enabling longitudinal sampling at scale. These collections benefit from standardized procedures, well‑controlled pre‑analytical variables, and exceptional traceability from donor to product.² Importantly, these biospecimens can be linked to highly informative donor-level data, extending beyond basic demographics to include diet, lifestyle factors, health history and potential environmental or occupational exposures. Taken together, these features make transfusion‑related biobanks particularly well suited for studying immune variability, inflammation, infection, and environmental exposures over time. Their value, however, depends on coordination across a distributed ecosystem that includes blood operators, hospital biobanks, public health agencies, and academic research centers.
Persistent Challenges
Many transfusion‑relevant biobanks have developed organically around specific regulatory or project‑based needs. As a result, visibility of existing collections is often limited, even within single institutions, leaving high‑value samples underused.² Fragmentation across consent models, governance frameworks, and data standards further constrains collaboration.
Legacy consent approaches, often conceived before genomics, artificial intelligence, and large‑scale data linkage, add complexity.³ Moreover, biospecimens without curated, interoperable, research‑ready data cannot fully deliver on their scientific promise.
From Storage to Stewardship
“A good biobank is an empty biobank” is a familiar but instructive adage. Its message is clear: value lies in ethical, equitable, and scientifically meaningful use rather than in accumulation. For transfusion medicine, this means redefining success based on contributions to research, quality improvement, and patient outcomes.
Looking Forward
Transfusion medicine has the populations, infrastructure, and expertise to position biobanking as a central driver of discovery. Experiences ranging from pandemic‑scale donor biobanks to longitudinal initiatives such as Sang pour Sens, federated sharing models, and genome‑enabled pipelines show what is possible when collections are intentionally designed to be used.
Ultimately, progress will depend on shared visibility of existing assets and a collective commitment to stewardship rather than storage. If achieved, transfusion medicine biobanks can move from silent repositories to strategic research platforms, advancing science, honoring donor altruism, and improving patient care worldwide.
References
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2. International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). Management and Governance of a Plasma Biobank Framework. ISBT Working Party on Transfusion Transmitted Infectious Diseases, Public Health Research Toolkit. Available from: https://www.isbtweb.org/isbt-working-parties/transfusion-transmitted-infectious-diseases/public-health-research-toolkit/enhance-the-ability-to-support-emerging-outbreaks.html
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