The European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA) has been available since 2013 and results from a collaborative partnership between the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG).
EGA is a data repository that promotes the distribution and sharing of personally identifiable genetic and phenotypic data resulting from biomedical research projects.
This archive contains data collected from individuals who agreed with EGA protocols regarding data release for research use or to bona fide researchers. To provide researchers and clinics with access to view the data a request needs to be approved by the appropriate data access-granting organisation (DAO) - which is, in most cases, the same organisation that approved and monitored the initial study protocol or a designate of this approving organisation. The main role of EGA is to guard the data to ensure that it is properly archived and distributed only to users previously approved by the DAO.
The EMBL-EBI training site provides an online tutorial with a brief introduction to the European Genome-phenome Archive for anyone interested in learning more about this service.