Biobanking: old activity or young discipline?

Biobanking is a new concept with solid bases in traditional pathology, the development of which is mandatory to allow effective translational research to flourish. Biobank activity is developing as a progressively complex young discipline playing a central role in biomedical research. This review analyzes the role of disease-driven biobanks in translational research, focusing on some aspects considered to be crucial for the future development of these institutions and service providers, including dedicated designs, funding, personnel, and ethical and legal frameworks, which, coupled with networked functioning, can provide an endless source of samples and, ideally, associated clinical information for biomedical research.