About THL Biobank
THL Biobank is a country-wide biobank that collects and stores valuable research samples from all over Finland. THL Biobank supports research investigating the causes of diseases, research on the impact of the hereditary, environmental and lifestyle factors to diseases, as well as research aiming to develop new solutions for health promotion and disease prevention.
THL Biobank was established in 2014, and is a part of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The activities of THL Biobank are an important part of THL's statutory duties. For decades, THL (and its predecessor KTL) has been collecting and preserving sample collections from the Finnish population for health monitoring and research. Later on, these valuable sample collections have been set to broader and more effective research use by transferring them to THL Biobank. THL Biobank hosts several significant population-based cohorts, disease-specific collections, and other nationally significant sample collections, including high-quality samples, wide variety of information about sample donors and data measured from the samples.
In addition to the different sample types (DNA, plasma, serum, RNA, cells etc.), the material stored in THL Biobank includes i.e. information on sample donors’ life-style and disease history, demographic and physical data (i.e. height and weight), laboratory measurements from the samples (i.e. cholesterol) and genomic data. At the moment THL Biobank collects new samples only in connection with new research projects initiated by THL or other research institutes. Currently samples, sample related and sample donor related data from over 200 000 sample donors is stored in THL Biobank and are accessible for future research purposes.
The research areas of THL Biobank are:
- Promotion of population health
- Identification of factors contributing to disease mechanisms
- Prevention of diseases
- Development of products and treatment practices that promote population health and welfare
- Development of products and treatment practices used in health care and medical care
