The Belgium BBMRI node was established to foster translational research in biomedicine, through the valorisation of biobanks where it works on matters like quality control, access, transparency, and interconnectedness of biobanks. It is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO); the national node coordinator is appointed by the Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health. The Belgian participation in BBMRI-ERIC was initiated by a collaboration of 3 biobank networks in Belgium: the Belgian Virtual Tumourbank (BVT), the Biothèque Wallonie Bruxelles (BWB), and the Flemish Biobank Network. The BBMRI-ERIC directory provides an overview of biobanks in Belgium and all other participating countries. BBMRI.be is currently in the process of creating a new governance structure, in which end-users (researchers as well as industry) are also involved.
Entry point: BBMRI.be
Website: http://www.bbmri.be/
Number of biobanks currently on the BBMRI-ERIC Directory: 16 biobanks- total collections: 29 – 13 for commercial use.