Parliament of Latvia (Saeima) adopted the Biobanks Law in the final reading on 14 May, which establishes a unified legal framework for the operation of biobanks in Latvia, promoting the development of research and the implementation of precision medicine.
The Biobanks Law has been developed to ensure clear conditions for the acquisition, storage and use of human-derived biological samples and related data for scientific and medical purposes. Until now, Latvia did not have a unified regulatory framework, which hindered biomedical research and international cooperation.
“The Biobanks Law is a significant step in the development of Latvia’s medicine and science. Biobanks can be compared to a secure and modern ‘library’ where biological materials and related information are stored for scientific research, in compliance with strict ethics and data protection principles. The new regulation will promote the development of personalized medicine and strengthen Latvia’s competitiveness in the international scientific environment. It is important to emphasize that every donor will retain full control over their information,” emphasized Minister for Health Hosams Abu Meri.
The law sets out the principles for the establishment and operation of biobanks, as well as provides for strict requirements for data protection, compliance with ethics, and the safeguarding of donors’ rights. It particularly emphasizes the importance of informed and dynamic consent, ensuring that individuals have control over the use of their biological samples in research.
Biobanks will enable healthcare institutions and research organisations to cooperate more closely, develop innovations, and more broadly involve patients in research. This, in turn, will promote the development of new treatment methods, diagnostic solutions, and medicines, as well as improve public health indicators.
The implementation of the Biobanks Law is an essential prerequisite for the sustainable development of the health data ecosystem in Latvia, ensuring high data quality, security and usability both at the national and international level, thereby strengthening Latvia’s competitiveness in the field of biomedicine and innovation.
Head of the Latvian National Biobank, Dr. biol. Vita Rovīte—who also leads the Molecular and Functional Genomics Research Group at the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre—has been named the Research Latvia Scientist of the Year 2024. Watch the video story:
