The long-term storage of human as well as animal and plant-based biomaterials probably comes closest to what is generally understood as biobanking. In contrast to epidemiological and clinical studies, this type of storage is normally used in research projects, in which the research objectives are still largely undetermined at the time of sampling. This context often means that biobanks are often tied to institutes and centres for clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine of large hospitals and university hospitals. Biomaterial samples such as blood and urine, which were collected for routine diagnostic examinations, are transferred to long-term storage for research purposes.