BioOne

As a reliable partner in Korea's health and medical R&D, the National Biobank of Korea stands at the forefront of innovation in the biohealth industry.

The National Biobank of Korea (hereinafter the “NBK”), established under the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), serves as a national biobank. It collects large-scale human bioresources—including human-derived materials, clinical and epidemiological information, and genetic data—from institution-specific projects such as the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) and the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), as well as from various national R&D projects. These resources are produced and managed using standardized methods and distributed to researchers. Since 2008, the NBK has overseen and supported the national management and utilization system for research human bioresources.

To ensure long-term preservation and efficient management of human bioresources, the NBK has established and operates a range of facilities and systems. It obtained ISO 9001 quality management system certification in 2005 and, in 2022, pursued ISO 20387 international accreditation for biobank operations. As a result, the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) recognized it as “Korea's first officially certified biobank” in accordance with international standards.
 

Operations and Achievements

• The NBK, together with private biobanks, has established ____ and strives to enhance the competitiveness of national health and medical R&D through the standardization of biobank operations in Korea. By collecting and providing standardized human bioresources under ensured bioethics and safety, it has amassed 1.17 million human bioresources and distributed them to 5,041 domestic health and medical R&D projects, contributing to the publication of 1,876 academic papers and the creation of 177 patents (as of December 2023).

Technical Support

• The NBK has developed the standard operating guidelines for biobanks and its own human bioresource information management system (current version v4.0), which it freely provides to the private sector (69 biobanks as of 2023), and offers technical support services, including system error resolution, through its helpdesk.

Standardization Efforts

• Moreover, the NBK continues to standardize operations and human bioresource collection and management in Korea through the development of the KBN Common Data Model for Clinical and Epidemiological Information (KBN CDM, current version v3.0), the KBN human bioresource big data platform (KBN BRIDGE), proficiency testing for bioresource quality control (65 institutions participating as of 2023), and online training programs for biobank personnel.

Distribution Services

• It also operates a distribution consultation call center (tel. 1661-9070), the KBN Distribution Support Center, and the NBK Distribution Committee, along with one-stop online distribution portals, including the Human Bioresource Distribution Desk and KBN Portal. Various customized services, such as tailored collection and distribution of human bioresources (on-demand banking), have been developed and are operated to allow researchers easy and convenient access to human bioresources.