6. Biological specimen

6.1 Provide a list of documents needed for export permit relevant to biological specimen shipment.

Please refer to Section 2.7 of this guidebook.

6.2 Does local regulation require any separate consent for biological specimen collection, storage, and future research? If yes, please explain if there are any templates and/or links to be followed.

Yes. The Ethical Review Authority has published participant information and consent templates, one of which is indicated for future research on biological samples.

Within the participant information template, there are sections related to the collection and treatment of biological samples:

“If samples will be sent within Sweden or abroad for analysis, this must be stated. It must be stated whether the samples are to be sent to another EU/EEA country or to a third country. Will the samples be kept by the recipient, returned, de-identified, or destroyed? How long will the samples be stored/analyzed in Sweden or abroad and within what time? Will the samples be returned, de-identified, or destroyed?”

Participant information and consent templates can be obtained from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority website.

6.3 Does the local authority require any specific documents for customs clearance?

Yes. The European Commission has some information on customs clearance documents and procedures that may be useful.

Legislation, such as ADR for transport on roads, RID for railway transport and IATA for air transport, regulate and provide instructions for the safe transportation of dangerous goods. The ADR rules apply on public roads.

It is the sender’s obligation to ensure correct classification, packaging, and labeling, including UN number and applicable warning diamonds, of the dangerous goods. The sender is further obliged to provide the shipping agent/transport firm with transport documentation, that is, a complete goods declaration and sender/receiver information.

The sender must also ensure that the shipping agent/transport firm holds a license for the transportation of dangerous goods.