The references of the “EN ISO 20387:2020 Biotechnology – Biobanking – General requirements for biobanking” are published in the Official Journal of the EU as of 23 February 2026.
EN ISO 20387 specifies general requirements for the competence, impartiality, and consistent operation of biobanks, including quality control requirements to ensure biological material and data collections of appropriate quality.
It is being used for the accreditation of biobanks.
Biobanking is the process of acquisitioning and storing, together with some or all of the activities related to collection, preparation, preservation, testing, analysing, and distributing defined biological material (any substance derived or part obtained from an organic entity such as a human, animal, plant, microorganism(s) or multicellular organism(s) that is(are) neither animal nor plant (e.g. brown seaweed, fungi)) as well as related information and data.
EA, following the EA Resolution 2023 (53) 14 on the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA) for biobanking, has already scheduled the peer evaluations for biobanking based on the outcome of a 2025 survey showing at least nine National Accreditation Bodies willing to undergo evaluation. A first MLA scope extension was already completed in 2025, and seven more are planned for 2026.
The EA MLA for biobanking will be launched when a minimum of two National Accreditation Bodies have been successfully peer-evaluated.
The EA MAC considered the outcome of the re-evaluation of AA (Austria) and RENAR (Romania), and took several decisions.
The EA MAC considered the outcome of the re-evaluation of AA (Austria) and RENAR (Romania), and took several decisions.
