Procurement, Storage, and Use of Blood in Biobanks

Blood is a widely used biospecimen in the field of biobanking, secondary to the ease with which it is collected along with the wide variety of analytes obtained from it for analysis. It carries the potential to further the search for biomarkers in countless diseases; therefore, the standardization and optimization of blood collection procedures is of importance in assuring reproducibility of results. Here, we briefly review procedures for the procurement, storage, and use of blood and its fractions for biobanking purposes. Select commonly used methods for collecting blood with various vacutainer blood collection tubes are described, along with optimal storage conditions of various samples in short- and long-term situations.