Adult telomerase positive stem cells: Compare and contrast biobanking with other proposed endogenous adult stem cells involved in regeneration and repair of damaged tissues

Biobanking is the process whereby biological samples, e.g., blood, DNA, cells, tissues, and/or organs, from multiple individuals are stored for later use, such as future research or clinical use.  In contrast to a simple freezer collection, a biobank usually maintains information for each sample, such as gender, ethnicity, lifestyle choices, clinical choices, and sometimes genomic data. Common categories of biobanks include sperm banks, umbilical cord banks, stem cell banks, tumor banks, clinical biobanks, etc. Biospecimens are collected with informed consent under approved standard operating procedures (SOPs) to minimize variability between samples, e.g., time of harvest, processing delay, temperature during transport, special tubes, special reagents, etc., and clinical notes are included so later analyses can if these variable affected outcomes. After collection, samples are transported promptly to processing facility where subsequent handling follows strict SOPs for downstream use. Processing is documented with chain of custody, time stamps, methods, for quality control (QC) records. Storage conditions are chosen based on specimen type, required analyses, anticipated duration of storage, and stability, balancing cost and logistics. Cell samples are processed into appropriate aliquots to reduce ice crystal formation during freeze-thaw procedures and frozen. Typical conditions include low temperature (-80oC), vitrification (-150oC), and liquid nitrogen (-196oC). The hypothesis being tested is that the same biobanking procedures are used for all adult cells involved in regeneration and repair of damaged tissues. This study will compare and contrast biobanking procedures of proposed endogenous adult cells involved in regeneration and repair of damaged tissues.