title: The Biomaterialbank of the German Competence Network of Heart Failure (CNHF) is a valuable resource for biomedical and genetic research.
abstract: Genetic research on heart failure (HF) requires large cohorts of well-phenotyped patients. The German Competence Network of Heart Failure (CNHF) organized a biobank in 2004 to supply the necessary infrastructure and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for a centralized collection of blood specimen. We centralized data and collected serum, plasma and DNA of well characterized HF subjects all over Germany. Different pseudonyms were created automatically to address data safety and other concerns about privacy. Thus far, we have collected 85,000 sample specimen from 9,500 prospectively evaluated patients with HF. Detailed medical data were prospectively acquired together with corresponding blood samples. In 2008 clinician-scientists can apply for access to the material. Our biobank represents a major facet of the CNHF and has already documented research and clinical utility.
authors.forename: Maximilian G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Posch
authors.forename: Götz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gelbrich
authors.forename: Burkert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pieske
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lehmkuhl
authors.forename: Christiane E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Angermann
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Störk
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Hans-Dirk
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Düngen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scheffold
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller-Tasch
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maisch
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rauchhaus
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: Cemil
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozcelik
mesh_terms: D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards*; D030541:Databases, Genetic / Q000592:standards*; D005858:Germany; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D014015:Tissue Banks / Q000592:standards*