The German Biobank Node serves as a central cooperation platform for the German biobank community, representing their interests in the European biobank network BBMRI-ERIC. GBN's commitment to biobanking fosters scientific progress on the path to precision medicine. Under the leadership of the German Biobank Node (GBN), eleven German biobanks and two IT expert centres have merged to form the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) to make biomaterials and associated data available for (inter)national biomedical research. The alliance partners are establishing joint quality standards and building a networked IT infrastructure. GBN and GBA are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Taking into account the interests of all stakeholders involved, GBN also advocates the concerns of biobanks beyond the biobanking scene. Moreover, GBN lobbies for biobanking on the European level by representing German interests in the biobank network BBMRI-ERIC. Thus, GBN creates standards for the further development and quality assurance of biobanking in Germany and Europe.
