There is no biobank-specific law to solve the privacy issue in the UKeither. In the UK, Biobanks must be licensed by the Human Tissue Authority.1 Certain projects must bereviewed by Research Ethics Committees, and all projects are encouraged to bereviewed by them.2Data Access Committees in biobanks are also common in the UK.3 Nonetheless, research onbiobanking materials is governed by a confusing set of statutory law, commonlaw, regulations, and guidance documents.4 Several layers ofapplicable law, from European to local, further complicate an understanding ofprivacy protections in the context of biobank in the UK.
5 In addition, biobanks notonly contain biological samples but also health data. Nonetheless, the legal frameworkin the UK generally differentiates between biological samples and health data,and the form of the data affects the applicability of legal provisions.6 In the UK, Biobanks mustbe licensed by the Human Tissue Authority.7 Certain projects must be reviewedby Research Ethics Committees, and all projects are encouraged to be reviewedby them.8 1 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442022 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442023 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442024 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442025 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442026 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442027 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/10731105166442028 J Kaye, J Bell, L Briceno, and CMitchell, Biobank Report: United Kingdom,J Law Med Ethics, 44(1):96-105 (March 2016), available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110516644202
