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Masamu U, Sangeda RZ, Mgaya J, Nkya S, Octavian B, Mtiiye FR, Nduguru J, Jonathan A, Kandonga D, Minja IK, Rugajo P, Balandya E, Makani J. Improved Biorepository to Support Sickle Cell Disease Genomics and Clinical Research: A Practical Approach to Link Patient Data and Biospecimens from Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Tanzania. Biopreserv Biobank 2023. [PMID: 37943607 DOI: 10.1089/bio.2023.0060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In Africa, sickle cell disease phenotypes' genetic contributors remain understudied due to the dearth of databases that pair biospecimens with demographic and clinical details. The absence of biorepositories in these settings can exacerbate this issue. This article documents the physical verification process of biospecimens in the biorepository, connecting them to patient clinical and demographic data and aiding in the planning of future genomic and clinical research studies' experience from the Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The biospecimen database was updated with the current biospecimen position following the physical verification and then mapping this information to its demographic and clinical data using demographic identifiers. The biorepository stored 74,079 biospecimens in three -80°C freezers, including 63,345 from 5159 patients enrolled in the cohort between 2004 and 2016. Patients were identified by a control (first visit), entry (when confirmed sickle cell homozygous), admission (when hospitalized), and follow-up numbers (subsequent visits). Of 63,345 biospecimens, follow-ups were 46,915 (74.06%), control 8067 (12.74%), admission 5517 (8.71%), and entry 2846 (4.49%). Of these registered patients, females were 2521 (48.87%) and males were 2638 (51.13%). The age distribution was 1-59 years, with those older than 18 years being 577 (11.18%) and children 4582 (88.82%) of registered patients. The notable findings during the process include a lack of automated biospecimen checks, laboratory information management system, and tubes with volume calibration; this caused the verification process to be tedious and manual. Biospecimens not linked to clinical and demographic data, date format inconsistencies, and lack of regular updating of a database on exhausted biospecimens and updates when biospecimens are moved between positions within freezers were other findings that were found. A well-organized biorepository plays a crucial role in answering future research questions. Enforcing standard operating procedures and quality control will ensure that laboratory users adhere to the best biospecimen management procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upendo Masamu
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Raphael Z Sangeda
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Josephine Mgaya
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Siana Nkya
- Department of Biochemistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Beatrice Octavian
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Frank R Mtiiye
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Joyce Nduguru
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Agnes Jonathan
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Daniel Kandonga
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Irene K Minja
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Department of Restorative Dentistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Paschal Rugajo
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Department of Internal Medicine, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Emmanuel Balandya
- Department of Physiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Julie Makani
- Muhimbili Sickle Cell Program, Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Department of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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