Compliance for Biobank Sample Storage: Meeting ISBER Best Practices

The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) publishes best practice guidelines that set a global standard for biobanking operations. At the heart of these guidelines is the call for strong auditing and compliance practices, with an emphasis on robust audit trail functionality within an inventory or sample management system. This means ensuring every specimen’s journey is traceable- what was changed, when it was changed, who made the change, and why. 

For biobanks still relying on spreadsheets or basic tools like Excel or Access, these capabilities are often missing. Without a built-in audit trail, biobanks struggle to meet the recommendations or troubleshoot discrepancies effectively. Purpose-built platforms such as LabKey Sample Manager and LabKey LIMS provide the tools needed to meet ISBER standards while simplifying compliance for biobank sample storage.

 

Why ISBER Calls for Audit Trails in Biobanking

ISBER’s best practice guidelines stress that audit trails are not optional—they are a requirement for ensuring reliable, reproducible, and trustworthy records in biobanks. A strong audit trail enables:

• Transparency – Clear visibility into every data or sample change.
• Compliance – Readiness for internal reviews and external audits.
• Accountability – Knowing exactly who took each action and why.
• Troubleshooting – Tracing discrepancies between digital records and physical samples.

By embedding audit trails into their systems, biobanks align directly with ISBER’s call for stronger compliance practices.

 

The Practical Value of Supporting Compliance for Biobanks

For biobanks, meeting ISBER’s auditing expectations isn’t just about passing audits. It improves daily operations and strengthens sample stewardship. Audit trails bring clarity and reliability that make storage and management more efficient:

• QC Managers gain quick visibility into data changes, reducing time spent validating records.
• Researchers can trust that specimen histories are accurate and complete.
• Biobank Managers save time investigating discrepancies, with clear records to reference.

In short, compliance for biobank sample storage delivers both regulatory confidence and smoother day-to-day workflows.

 

How LabKey Enables Compliance for Biobank Sample Storage

To put compliant recommendations and requirements into practice, biobanks need systems with built-in auditing capabilities. LabKey provides several features designed to help support ISBER’s audit and compliance expectations:

Sample & Location Timelines

Provide a specimen-specific history of all actions taken, including optional comments to explain why changes occurred.

Comprehensive Audit Logs

Aggregate audit information across samples, locations, and system configurations. Logs can be sorted and filtered, but never edited, ensuring integrity within the biobank software.

Required Comments for Data Changes

Allow administrators to enforce mandatory comments whenever data is altered, capturing the “why” behind each action.

Role-Based Permissions

Define access levels for different user roles to ensure only authorized staff can perform specific actions. This prevents unauthorized changes, enforces separation of duties, and strengthens compliance for biobank sample storage by aligning user access with responsibility.

 

Making Compliance for Biobank Sample Storage Easy

ISBER best practices highlight the need for comprehensive auditing and compliance measures in biobanking. LabKey delivers on these requirements with built-in timelines, audit logs, and comment enforcement that ensure every action is traceable and transparent.

For biobanks ready to move beyond spreadsheets or ad hoc systems, adopting an ISBER-aligned solution like LabKey Sample Manager means greater confidence in compliance for sample storage, smoother audits, and stronger data integrity.

View our biobank solutions, or take a tour here.