The first comparative study of human genetic biobanking and genetic sampling in Asia, this work addresses emerging socio-political and economic concerns regarding biobanking activities in China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Japan. First, it illuminates conflicting interests in various Asian contexts between groups that favour rapid scientific advancement and those that emphasize the importance of public trust in managing biobanking activities. Second it explores the social and economic problems that arise from biobanking activities in developing countries, focusing on national interests, the genetic sampling of vulnerable peoples, and the urge to overtake advanced countries in the field of genomics. Third, it discusses political, sociocultural and legal issues relevant to biobanking activities in wealthy societies that aim to develop a regulatory infrastructure for biobanking. A unique examination of biobanking policy-making grounded in empirical, multi-sited studies, this is a highly important work that illuminates the biosciences that are changing human society, at work in the rapidly developing countries of Asia.

1. Introduction: Human Genetic Biobanking in Asia: Issues of Trust, Wealth and Ambition Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner Part 1: Biobanking in Welfare Societies 2. Public Trust, Commercialisation, and Benefit Sharing: Towards a Trustworthy Biobank in Taiwan Hung-En Liu and Terence Hua Tai 3. Biobanks in Japan: Ethics, Guidelines and Practice Gerard Porter 4. Trust and the Creation of Biobanks: Biobanking in Japan and the UK Tohru Masui 5. Should We Invest in Biobanking in Hong Kong? Using Biobanking for Dyslexic Studies in Hong Kong as an Example Mary Miu Yee Waye and Connie Ho Part 2: Biobanking and Problems of Inequality 6. Collecting Families: An Institutional Approach to Human Genetic Biobanking in Indonesia Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner 7. India's Preparedness in Tackling Biopiracy and Biobanking: Still Miles to Go Nandini K. Kumar 8. The Indian Genomic Biobank Initiative and Emerging Bioethical Issues: A Community-based Perspective Prasanna Kumar Patra and Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner 9. Within Borders: Risks and the Development of Biobanking in China Wen-Ching Sung 10. Bioethical Regulation and Human Genetic Databases in Mainland China: a National Survey among Scientists and Regulators on Consent Issues and Benefit-sharing Xinqing Zhang