The Hungarian Biobank Node

The Hungarian Biobank Node (HBN) is the umbrella organization of the largest biobanks in Hungary and represents the Hungarian research community within BBMRI-ERIC, the largest biobank network in Europe. HBN is supported by the Hungarian Research and Innovation Office, and is the primary contact in Hungary for all stakeholders involved in biobanking.

HBN was established in 2021 and consists of 6 major biobanks of the largest healthcare providers in Hungary. These biobanks are collecting several types of biospecimens and associated data elements. Members of the HBN are harmonizing their quality standards and establishing federated data sharing within the network, aiming to implement FAIR principles as the foundation of the process. Our sites adhere to the highest ethical standards when acquiring specimens for their collections, and protection of donor identity is assured.

HBN catalyzes scientific discovery through the networking of resources aimed at the collection and distribution of different human biospecimen and clinical data. HBN believes that biobanks have a strategical importance in the future of data driven precision medicine. We are engaging all stakeholders relevant to biobanks – from researchers to patients. HBN provides researchers with a wealth of resources to facilitate their research, including medical records and clinical data sets (when available), as well as access to quality metrics and best practices used by each site.