Scope
This document identifies high-level best practices for biospecimen collection and processing that may be utilized to improve consistency and standardization across biospecimen resources. A “biospecimen resource” is defined as a collection of human specimens and associated data for research purposes, the physical structure where the collection is stored, and all associated processes and policies. Biospecimen resources vary considerably, ranging from formal organizations to informal collections of materials in an individual researcher’s freezer. The scope of this document includes best practices for biospecimen resource governance (which encompasses ethical, legal, and policy considerations) along with technical and operational best practices.
Best practices for postmortem recovery of human specimens are addressed in a separate document, Best Practices for Postmortem Recovery of Normal Human Tissue for Research.
Applicability and Implementation
The NCI Best Practices are intended to be applicable to all types of biospecimen resources that manage human specimens. The implementation of the NCI Best Practices is voluntary, and much of the information in the NCI Best Practices can be broadly or narrowly applied depending on the mission and goals of the biospecimen resource and/or the specific study design. Biospecimen resource managers are encouraged to implement the NCI Best Practices in their biospecimen management plans, as appropriate.