Establishing and sustaining a biorepository network in Israel: Challenges and progress

Over the past 5 years, using European and North American biobanks as models, the grass-roots establishment of independently operating biobanks has occurred virtually simultaneously in large Israeli teaching hospitals. The process of establishing a national biorepository network in Israel has progressed slowly, sustained mainly by a few proponents working together on a personal level. Slow progress has been due to limited funding and the lack of a legal framework specific to biobanking activities. Recently, due to increasing pressure from the scientific community, the government has earmarked funds for a national biorepository network, and the structure is now being established. In forming a network, Israel's biobanks face certain difficulties, particularly lack of support. Additional challenges include harmonization of standard operating procedures, database centralization, and use of a common informed consent form. In this article, we highlight some of the issues faced by Israel's biobank managers in establishing and sustaining a functional biobank network, information that could provide guidance for other small countries with limited resources.