Hualien Tzu Chi Biobank is composed of two parts: the Hualien main Biobank and the Dalin branch. Our mission is to promote medical research that promotes a better understanding of diseases and developing novel treatment strategies. By broadly collecting valuable clinical specimens and related data and managing them in high quality, we hope that our biobank can become the vital support of clinicians' research.
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital is the only medical center in Eastern Taiwan, and our Biobank is also the only biobank on the East coast. Our hospital has been taking care of patients living in Hualien and Taitung for a few decades and providing medical service for patients in this area. Almost 1/3 of the population here on the East coast are aborigines, making the clinical specimens and related data collected by our Biobank are unique. Studies using these materials may reveal particular environmental influences such as lifestyle and genetic background on diseases' progression. The knowledge can improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic strategies of the relevant diseases. Moreover, the Dalin branch, founded by Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, collects the specimens and related clinical data from participants living in central and southern Taiwan. The materials contained by the Dalin branch may possess different geographical characteristics from those collected by the Hualien main biobank. Clinicians and doctors of neurosurgery, general surgery, colorectal surgery, orthopedics, urology, chest medicine, thoracic surgery, hematology & oncology, nephrology, cardiology, and gastroenterology have participated in the Hualien Tzu Chi Biobank. The collected specimens include tumor tissue, kidney tissue, blood, urine, body fluid, and DNA. We will continue to expand our biobank in both quantity and quality to construct a solid foundation for studying the pathogenesis of diseases and the underlying mechanisms.