The Seoul Clinical Laboratories (SCL) Biobank in Korea acquired the ISO 20387:2018 accreditation for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region from the A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation), the most authoritative certification body in the field of biobanking.
The A2LA is one of the world’s first and largest conformity assessment accreditation bodies to be recognized for the ISO 20378 for biobanks, which has also been a signatory of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) since 2000.
The requirements of ISO 20387 are designed to establish a biobank’s operational competence and ability to provide biological material and associated data that meets the needs of research and development. Obtaining ISO 20387 accreditation signifies that the entire biobanking process is transparent, and that high-quality work is being carried out in accordance with strict global standards.
In 2016, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency granted authorization to SCL to operate a biobank, making it the first reference laboratory in the country to be granted a such license. Since then, the SCL Biobank has worked hard to make research more convenient for researchers, and it also takes an active role in collaborative research with external institutions or researchers who are having difficulty securing appropriate samples for their research.
Meanwhile, the SCL Biobank underwent a two-year preparation process as well as other quality assurance improvements to assess the objective excellence of its overall operating system. Following on-site assessment by an A2LA specialist assessor with relevant experience in biobanking on October 2022, the SCL Biobank was eventually accredited for ISO 20387:2018 on January 5, 2023.
“The SCL Biobank strives to achieve global recognition for the excellence and reliability of the biological materials it preserves and plans to continuously contribute to the value of medical development and research including global collaboration through a reliable biobanking service in the future,” said Kwan-Soo Lee Ph.D., CEO of SCL in a statement.
