Biobanks as a tool for progress in translational and personalized pediatrics

The article presents and discusses key issues in the biobanking system development in Russian pediatrics. Biobanking has already become an indispensable resource for new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies development in many areas of medicine. Numerous results of such activities, widely reflected in recent publications of leading scientific medical journals, prove that only a network of biobanks that meets modern requirements can ensure the development of pediatrics at all its stages: fundamental, translational and clinical. It is well understood that high-quality storage and use of biomaterial obtained from patients with congenital and hereditary diseases are of key importance for the development of precision pediatrics. However, even for diseases that are not included in this category, the study and registration of genetic factors that affect predisposition or modify the clinical manifestations of the diseases are necessary for the development of scientific pediatrics. And in this regard, the latter cannot do without competent biobanking. Unfortunately, genetic laboratories that diagnose congenital anomalies, hereditary diseases of the nervous system, etc. are functioning in the structure of only a small number of Russian multidisciplinary children’s hospitals focused on patients with complex comorbid pathology. At the same time, specialized biobanks exist only in a few of these centers. As one of them, the article provides an example of a biobank that is currently being integrated into the structure of the V.F. Voyno-Yasenetsky Scientific and Practical Center of Specialized Medical Care for Children of the Moscow City Health Department. The article also considers the main requirements for the organization of biobanks, for scientific research of the material stored in them, and for the presentation of the corresponding results in modern highly rated scientific publications.