Building a Biobank Network for Health Research in Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Biobanks play an essential role in the development of personalized medicine since they collect large numbers of high-quality biomaterials corresponding to clinical data. Despite its extensive population diversity, research institutions in Indonesia have indicated less awareness regarding biobanking for research practices. AIM: The journey to harmonize the knowledge and understanding of biobanks for health research and the development of the network in Indonesia has been summarized in this article. METHODS: To build a national biobank network, in 2015 the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, UGM held the first national biobank network meeting in Indonesia. Follow-up meetings were then held to identify challenges and constraints faced by the network. Five annual national workshops (2015–2019) have been held. RESULTS: Four working groups (WG) were formed to effectively coordinate the network, addressing the infrastructure and Laboratory Information Management System (WG 1), SOP and Best Practices (WG 2), Training and Education and Legal (WG 3), and Ethical and Social Issues (WG 4). CONCLUSION: The formation of a national biobank network in Indonesia is based on the hope for multi-institutional collaboration to mainly foster the development of biobanks for health research with best available practices and provide a central hub of coordination.