The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB) has become the first in England to receive ISO 20387:2018 accreditation, an international standard that recognises excellence in biobanking.
The PCRFTB – the world’s first national pancreas tissue bank – is hosted and co-ordinated by the Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, funded by Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (PCRF) and supported by a Human Tissue Authority licence from Barts Health NHS Trust. Working in collaboration with nine NHS partners across the UK, all renowned for their expertise in treating pancreatic diseases, the bank collects and stores high-quality tissue, blood, saliva and urine samples in addition to clinical data from people with pancreatic cancer, their relatives and healthy volunteers.
In 2015, PCRF committed £2.4 million – raised by the charity’s supporters – to establish the Tissue Bank. The ongoing running costs of the Tissue Bank are also met through continued donations from supporters.
By making high-quality samples and data available to researchers worldwide, the PCRFTB is helping to improve understanding of the disease and accelerate the development of earlier detection methods and more effective treatments. To date, it has supported more than 100 research projects involving academic and industry partners across the globe.
Setting a new standard for biobanking
ISO 20387:2018 accreditation, awarded by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, recognises a biobank’s commitment to rigorous standards in the collection, storage and use of biological materials. It certifies that samples are handled in ways that preserve their quality, consistency and integrity, enabling robust and reliable scientific studies. The standard also verifies that processes meet the highest ethical requirements, giving donors confidence that their samples are treated with the utmost respect.
Of the UK’s more than 200 research biobanks, the PCRFTB is the first in England and only the second UK-wide to receive this accreditation. Assessors praised the dedication of the Tissue Bank’s small team of five operations staff and two principal investigators, whose efforts enabled the bank to reach this international standard.
Maggie Blanks, PCRF Founder and CEO, said:
“When PCRF committed to funding the Tissue Bank, we knew that its aspirations to change the landscape of what research could achieve were pioneering. Our supporters understood that, and they worked tirelessly to raise the money to fund it. This ISO award is a testament to the outstanding Tissue Bank team whose talent and dedication have earned it recognition as a world-class facility and enabled it to grow from a national resource into an international one. I’m so pleased and proud for everyone involved.”
Professor Hemant Kocher, Principal Investigator and Professor of Liver and Pancreas Surgery, said:
“Achieving ISO 20387:2018 accreditation for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank is a huge testament to the high standards achieved by the coordinating team throughout this national initiative’s successful first decade. Altogether, the Tissue Bank has supported more than 100 research projects with academic and industry partners worldwide. We welcome expressions of interest from researchers wishing to use our samples and data in hypothesis-driven studies via our website: thepancreastissuebank.org”
Photo above shows the Tissue Bank’s core team.
Photo courtesy of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London