Harmonizing Maternal and Infant Biospecimen Collection and Processing for Research

Abstract

High-quality biospecimen collection and processing are essential for reproducible and comparable biomedical research. In maternal and infant research, concerns about variability in pre-analytical handling have often been cited as a barrier to cross-cohort collaboration and secondary use of biospecimens. We conducted a descriptive review of publicly available protocols and investigator-provided standard operating procedures from major United States and international maternal–infant biobanks to assess the degree of harmonization across specimen types, including maternal blood and urine, umbilical cord blood, placenta and associated tissues, breast milk, amniotic fluid, and the infant’s dried blood spots. Across biobanks, there was substantial convergence in key pre-analytical parameters, including collection timing, temperature control, centrifugation conditions, aliquoting strategies, long-term storage at −80°C or in liquid nitrogen vapor, and cold-chain shipping. While some variability persists, particularly in placental sampling timing and tissue handling tailored to specific analytic goals, core processing principles were highly consistent. These findings demonstrate that meaningful harmonization across maternal and infant biobanks is already largely in place and that barriers to cross-biobank collaboration may lie more in metadata capture and data integration than in laboratory procedures. This perspective highlights the feasibility of leveraging existing biospecimen resources for collaborative research without requiring wholesale re-standardization of biospecimen workflows.