Biobanking During COVID - Challenges and Opportunities Related to Infectious Biospecimens

Pathologists have long been at the forefront of biobanking practices, assuring that biospecimens from patients are properly collected and processed for diagnostic procedures. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, pathologists and laboratory technicians have had to develop and implement new biosafety procedures to protect themselves and patients and they are also often involved in research into new therapies, explains Dr. Jim Vaught, editor-in-chief of the journal Biopreservation and Biobanking. In this CAPcast, Dr. Vaught discusses the special challenges involved in developing protocols to work with biospecimens collected from patients during an infectious disease emergency, as well as the role that biobanks play in the development of COVID vaccines and therapies. More resources related to biobanking and biorepositories can be found on CAP.org under the Biorepository Accreditation Program: https://capatholo.gy/3rzSPkg.