Biobank activity at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital is managed mainly by means of an external computer application that enables the administration and search for samples, covering the entire process, from the arrival of the sample at the biobank to the subsequent service to researchers. Biobank managers use the application to design storage facilities, create sample collections, define protocols and retrieve samples using different criteria. Technical staff also use the application to register samples after physical receipt and manage data logs. Researchers and clinicians can update their collections (previously created by the Biobank managers) and complete their data notebooks. 

Another critical activity in Biobank is the exploitation of the samples and the data related to them.  The researchers or doctors request the data regarding the samples to the Biobank managers, and the latter use the application to carry out searches using different criteria by configuring the application’s parameters. The information retrieved is then collected manually in catalogues to be sent to the user who made the query.

Biobank, thanks to the grant from the ISCIII Biomodels and Biobanks Platform project, has developed and included in its portfolio of services the development of biomodels such as PDXs, organoids, and cell lines, in addition to the development of preclinical trials. Managing the acquisition of these biomodels requires the coordination of a multidisciplinary team, the collection of clinical data from patients, verification of tumor histology, and the collection of numerous data associated with those derived from the biomodels generated from a tumor case.