Generally, all material collected by NHMO staff as part of their duty legally belongs to the NHMO and should therefore be deposited in the relevant collections (Lov om universiteter og høyskoler/Act relating to universities and university colleges, § 7-4). For samples intended for genetic analyses, the DNA Bank will usually be the appropriate repository.
The NHMO DNA Bank will also accept samples from non-NHMO staff, or samples collected by staff during periods when they were not associated with the NHMO. For such material, a Material Transfer Agreement for receipt of material (MTA3; see MTAs) will have to be filled in before the material can enter the DNA Bank.
Although no MTA is required for samples collected by NHMO staff, we recommend all suppliers of samples to read through the MTA for receipt of material to get acquainted with the routines for handling, publication and use of samples in the DNA Bank.
Advice for field collection routines, registration of samples in the DNA Bank etc. can be found in the NHM Wiki DNA Bank section.
If you plan to submit samples collected outside Norway, please get in contact with the DNA Bank as early as possible in the process to ensure that all legal issues related to the sampling and transfer of samples can be dealt with properly and in due time.
According to § 60 of the Norwegian Naturmangfoldloven (Nature Diversity Act), all genetic samples obtained abroad after 1 July 2009 shall be accompanied by:
- information about provider country
- any documentation required by national law in the provider country (ref. the Nagoya Protocol)
Such documentation can include agreements for the collection and export of genetic material (Prior Informed Consent (PIC), Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT)), collecting permits, export permits etc.
No samples will be allowed to enter the DNA Bank before all legal obligations have been met and documented!