ABSTRACT
Public trust is a fundamental cornerstone in biomedical science in general and biobanking in particular (Campbell 2007). Essentially, in the biobanking context, members of the public who participate are being asked to put their trust in biobank operators and researchers to manage and keep secure their information and tissue, and to use them in ways that maximize any anticipated social and/or personal benefits. Clearly then, public trust and public participation go hand in hand. Members of the public are only likely to be willing to provide their tissue and information to biobanks if they have trust in the operators and users of biobanks and in the governance structures that regulate them (Kaye and Martin 2000, Chalmers and Nicol 2004).
