Top 4 Myths About Brain Tissue Donation
From Mary Kugler,
Your Guide to Rare / Orphan Diseases.
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Medical researchers have a great need for brain tissue to conduct studies of neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), lissencephaly, and many others. So why does brain donation cause so many people to say, “Ewww!”? Perhaps it’s because people believe the Top Myths About Brain Donation.

1) Researchers only need the brains of people with brain disorders.
Not true. Researchers need brain tissue from both healthy people and those with neurological disorders. The healthy brain tissue can be studied to see why it stayed healthy, and diseased tissue can be compared to it.

2) You can’t have an open casket funeral if you donate your brain.
Not true. The pathologist (physician) makes an incision at the back of the head at the hairline, and the brain is removed. The skull remains, so the person is not disfigured in any way, and you can’t tell the brain has been removed.

3) Brain tissue donation is the same as other organ donation.
Not true. When someone dies, the brain tissue needs to be donated within 12 hours for it to be useful to researchers. The brain can’t be kept alive with machines the way the heart can for donation. And brain tissue isn’t used for a transplant like the heart or kidney—its tissue is for research only.

4) You have the final say on whether you’re a brain donor or not.
Not true. When you die, your body becomes the property of your next of kin. It goes to your surviving spouse; if you have no spouse, then your adult children; if no surviving adult children, then your parents; if no surviving parents, then your siblings. Whoever has responsibility for your body will have the final say in whether or not you are a brain donor. Therefore, if you want to be a brain donor, you have to talk to your family and make your wishes known.

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