Te Ira Kāwai – The Auckland Regional Biobank started as an endeavour to centralise the collection of future unspecified samples across the Auckland region. Starting in 2010 the Middlemore tissue bank was created then gifted to and became a corner stone of Te Ira Kāwai. On 3 February 2016, Kaumātua Jacobs performed a karakia and blessing before the opening of the new Te Ira Kāwai – Auckland Regional Tissue Bank in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (Grafton Campus). The premise to unite the 3 metropolitan district health boards alongside the University of Auckland has allowed us to become the complex and innovative resource that we are today for researchers locally, nationally, and internationally.
Our journey has been one of integration and collaboration, listening to our researchers and clinical staff for strategic direction/ guidance. Allowing us to use the resources that we have, to facilitate research and guide researchers around the art of biobanking. We have developed pathways of service for our researcher to assist their projects along. From assisting in the consenting and identifying patients all the way to storing samples in our long-term cryostore facility.
Our place within the university is a platform to provide services and guidance to researchers, in a way that is not only equitable but also protective of our patients who we represent. Acting as a sole contact for clinical staff for human tissue research, we help solve and mitigate risk for researchers.
In Auckland we have also seen the need for assistance in processing PBMNC samples for research and clinical trials. Rapidly gaining experience in this area we are now able to provide as a service to our stakeholders. With the rapidly moving research environment it is pertinent that we adapt to what is needed as well as remain sustainable to help continue the legacy of our patients amazing donations.