Informed consent in the era of biobanks

Biorepositories collecting human specimens and health information have proliferated in recent years. Efforts to set a range of policies related to biorepositories, including those related to procedures for obtaining informed consent and recontacting participants, have been hindered by a paucity of data on the diverse forms biorepositories take and the variety of institutional settings where they are established. A recent survey demonstrates in detail, for the first time, the diversity of biorepositories in the USA. See research article: http://genomemedicine.com/content/5/1/3