Human body material and human data: practical consequences of the biobank legislation and the GDPR

Research involving human body materials and human data triggers complex legal and ethical issues. The material itself triggers the biobanking legislation and the accompanying data about the donor trigger the GDPR. Genetic data that are generated may also constitute personal data in themselves. This has important consequences for the way we get access to such material and data and how we should handle them. Taking these matters into account from the moment a new research project is conceived will help to prevent difficulties in later phases when you want to publish data, upload data in a repository or share them with third parties.