Rethinking the Right of Withdrawal Under the GDPR in the Context of Biobank Research

The right to withdraw consent is an essential component of research ethics and data privacy. However, it should be noted that biobank research differs from traditional medical research. This thesis analyses the right of withdrawal in biobank research and argues that the right of withdrawal under the GDPR is not sufficient for balancing the interests of the stakeholders. In order to make an analysis of the legal issues attached to the right of withdrawal under the GDPR, the first Chapter provides the legal background for processing personal data for biobank research. The second Chapter, identifies the impacts of the right to withdraw consent in biobanking. The final Chapter proposes alternatives for balancing the interests sufficiently and highlights the need for a harmonized legislation specifially for biobanking within the European Union.