North America was the largest region in the biobanks market in 2018, accounting for $23.55 billion or around 46% of the total market share. Large funding for medical research relating to cancer and other disease conditions through agencies such as the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) by the federal government contributed to the country’s large share of the market. Higher use of blood products and cell lines to diagnose chronic disease conditions than other regions, and higher investments in medical research than other regions also contributed to its share in the market.

Within North America, the USA contributed the largest share by country, at more than 37% of the global biobanks market share. This large share was due to higher prices of blood platelets and plasma than other countries globally. Higher public private investments in medical research that required services of biobanks also contributed to the USA’s share in the market.

The American Red Cross, which is the US affiliate of the International Red Cross, was also amongst the top players in the global biobanks market in 2018. The American Red Cross provides disaster relief, blood service, emergency assistance, and disaster preparedness education in the United States and around the world. It was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States.

The American Red Cross provides about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components, all from volunteer donors. In 2017, around 2.7 million people donated nearly 4.7 million units of blood. These donations were processed into nearly 6.6 million blood products and supplied to approximately 2,600 hospitals and transfusion centers, to meet the needs of patients globally. The organization added eight additional platelet collection centers in 2017.

Automated sample storage and liquid handling systems are increasingly being used by biobanks in the US as well as globally, to accommodate large number of samples, maintain sample integrity and enhance accessibility. For example, Mayo Clinic Biobank Infrastructure in the USA has automated sample storage and liquid handling systems following a design by Hamilton Storage and Hamilton Robotics. The system can manage and store up to 8.7 million biological samples at minus 80 °C. This technology aids in accurate tracking, storing, and retrieving samples. Lifelines’ biobank in the Netherlands is using automated sample storage and liquid handling systems to standardize sample collection and maintain sample integrity. Samples were stored in a Hamilton Bios system which has the capacity to store up to 10 million sample tubes at minus 80°C. These automated systems offer advantages such as constant temperature blocks moisture from entering the storage compartment and thus aids in maintaining sample integrity.