Sample Collections
All human samples collected within ethically approved research studies where Karolinska Institutet is legally responsible, are considered part of KI Biobank, whether or not they are stored centrally at KI’s core facility or at different locations in KI.
Sample Collections at the Core Facility
There are many different types of sample collections stored safely in the biobank facility at Karolinska Institutet. Currently 120 collections are registered in the biobank. The collections vary in size from a few hundred sample donors up to tens of thousands, and contain different types of samples. The most common types are blood and DNA but other sample types, such as plasma, serum, saliva, urine, cerebrospinal fluid are also collected.
The sample collections are usually available for collaborations after contact with the responsible researcher.
As of 2018 there are about 8 million biobank samples from about 500 000 individuals in the freezers of KI Biobank.
Sample Collections at the Departments
Apart from the samples which are stored centrally at KI Biobank, there are also sample collections at some of KI’s departments. These include sample collections which have been transferred from another responsible organization within the health and medical services to Karolinska Institutet, samples taken from healthy volunteers or donors outside the health and medical services or samples obtained from overseas.
For sample collections at departments of KI, the sample quality and traceability must be secured without risk to the integrity of the sample donor. According to national guidelines this means that the sample collections must be registered in a biobank with appropriate documentation in a quality system. To assure this, a form for new sample collections must be completed and sent to biobank@ki.se.