Across our laboratory network, every consented sample is stored at −80 °C, with full traceability from the kit it came in to every test it has seen.
Lab staff biobank in Samples, the same app they use for intake and prep. Consented kits go into a pouch, the pouch goes into the freezer at a recorded place, and the labels print. Anyone can find any sample again.
Animation of the Pouches page in the Samples App: pouch QVBAAD with three consented kits is added to the -80 °C freezer at row 1, rack 2, bin 3, and its label prints.
Only kits with biobank consent can be stored. If consent is withdrawn, the kit is flagged to be removed and disposed of.
Every pouch is stored in a named freezer, at a recorded row, rack and bin.
The pouch label and each kit’s sleeve label print from the same app, with every ID on them.
Every time a pouch or a kit leaves the freezer, it is recorded, with who and when.
A stored sample keeps its value. Linked to a person’s later health, and shared under consent, samples collected today can help researchers find signals that no single study could.
When a condition is diagnosed, researchers can return to samples the same person gave months or years before, and look for the first signs.
As new tests are developed, they can run on samples already in the freezer. DNA methylation has been read from Q-Strips stored for over two years.
Every sample in the network is collected, handled and recorded the same way, so research groups can combine their samples and compare their results.
Samples are only used for research the participant agreed to, and personal data is kept apart from sample and health data.
Where it could matter. Conditions that are hard to catch early, and that menstrual blood may carry signals of. Some are near, others a longer shot, all worth studying.
Work with the Qvin biobank, or bring our way of biobanking to your own lab.
