Dorcas Kamuya: Ethical issues for biobanking in LMICs
Channel: Tropical Medicine Oxford
Date: 02/09/2020

Dr Dorcas Kamuya from our KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, tells us about the advantages and challenges of biobanking. 

Biobanking, the sharing of samples for research purposes, is an emerging area in LMICs. The issue of broad, un-specified consent needs to be addressed, as well as consent given by parents on behalf of their children. We also need to ensure that biobanking doesn’t increase the inequity between developed and developing countries, and that community perceptions about biobanking ultimately feed into policies, guidelines and ethical frameworks.