According to Spanish regulation, a biobank is a public or private nonprofit establishment that houses a collection of biological samples intended for diagnostic or biomedical research, organized as a technical unit in quality, order and destination.

It is a translational research center integrated by more than 20 institutions which involves scientists from different disciplines in order to improve the knowledge in respiratory diseases.

Respiratory disease is the term for diseases of the respiratory system which include asthma, COPD, sleep apnea, lung cancer, respiratory infections, tuberculosis, etc. These are an important health problem for their prevalence and sanitary cost. They are the third cause of mortality (10-12%) in the developed countries.

Facilitate the access to lung tissue material and biological samples necessary to carry out research projects that otherwise would be difficult to achieve. Any researcher with a research project funded and approved by an ethics committee may request the resources of PBP.

Many people undergo lung surgery as part of their treatment. After the surgeon removes tissue, it is sent to a pathology laboratory where a pathologist examines the tissue to prepare a report that is used to plan future treatment.