Neuroscience wants brains; any University especially
those of Level 3/4 Centers would most likely have a
Research Center in association or nearby:

One place to check up on is here:

Epilepsy Centers - Level 3/4 Map - United States

Most of them are associated and/or affiliated with
Research. So by clicking on the State and the location,
some of them have their own websites, and you can
easily click and go - and right smack into the Research
Center - and from there for Brain Donations by calling
or emailing them.

This doesn't mean one has to have EPILEPSY, it's a
way to get there the fastest into Neuroscience.

Hope this helps.

NOTE: Info above is for United States only, I don't
have International Info

all these restictions, so all those living in gary near those smelly polluting plants probably would not be good canidates,

i imagine anyone drinking our tap water would not either u can actually smell the chemical in the water, imagine a number of us went to a school with abstestos,

I understand the need for purest cleanest organ, but you know what odds are the person these organs are being put in, has been touched by some of these issues already.

just boggles me reading all the restrictions

I should have mentioned when I posted this that Australians with MS can no longer donate blood to the Red Cross Blood Bank .

I wonder if they'd accept an organ by a weed smoker.

We (people with MS) aren't allowed to donate blood in Canada, and our organ transplant policies follow the same rules, effective December, 2007:

"We'll be asking about things like travel, history of infectious disease, whether they've [donors] been in jail — that puts you at increased risk," Nickerson (director of Transplant Manitoba) said. "Have they been an IV drug abuser in the past? Have they had tattoos? There's a whole list of questions we go through."

“They are also asked about the donor's sexual orientation. The donor will be excluded if the donor is a man who had sex with another man in the previous five years.

“. . . transplant programs must now by law interview family members of the donor as part of the screening process.”

“Transplant programs have been screening potential donors, but in some cases use organs from people in high-risk groups if they've tested negative for diseases. The new legislation means that practice must stop.”

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...ransplant.html

On the other hand, we (PwMS) might benefit from someone else's organ in the future.

"ASHLEY HALL: Doctors in Sydney may have stumbled across the holy grail of transplant surgery.

A young liver transplant patient has taken on the immune system of her donor . . . The doctors aren't exactly sure how it happened, but they do see potential benefits for other transplant patients, as well as for sufferers of auto-immune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type-one diabetes . . ."

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2146056.htm

The UK has been contemplating a "opt-out" system, whereby consent is automatically presumed when someone dies, i.e. no need to sign a organ donor card. Personally, I think they are playing with fire if they go this route and I would be surprised if they ever end up with a "hard" opt-out system (no discussion what-so-ever with family).

Besides the fact that they might not want our MS-infested organs in case we inadvertently pass on our immune system (this has occurred in the US too, apparently), they don't even know what causes MS yet. For all we know, it may be a virus or bacteria, combined with a certain genetic make-up (and/or other environmental factors), that might transfer to others.

I was an organ and blood donor up till 1991 when I was dx with MS. I pulled my card then because until they know the CAUSE of MS, I don't want to take any unnecessary chances in passing it on.

Cherie

The liver patient's story is fantastic, thanks, Cherie! That is super encouraging to me!

Thanks Cherie! I have to say, for me, if I were going to die and needed an organ, I would take one from someone with ms or related disease and take the risk. Since having ms is not a death sentence, it has to be better than dying without it. That's just me though, not everyone feels the same way.

Well, it's official, my friend, Dr. Bill has no knowledge of a reputable, definitive, searchable database to identify which, if any, Rx drugs can interfere with organ donation.

He also wants me to mention that allergy shots can hurt your kidneys and we should all learn carefully before agreeing to receive them.

So, I'm back to square one, it seems to be different everywhere, even region to region here in the states. Perhaps the best way to learn whether Rx meds will interfere with your ability to donate organs is to study the fine print associated with your own meds.

My impression from Dr. Bill is that since not everyone has the same experience with any med, it's up to the surgical team at the time of harvest to determine the health and viability of each organ.

Thanks for starting this thread.

I plan on donating my CNS to research when I'm gone. It's kind of ironic in a way.

I grew up with two other family members with MS. My mom and my grandmother (dad's mom), so I have immediate family members on both sides. I used to joke as a kid that I'd donate my body to science if I ever got it too.

Well, here I am. The third MS'er in my family. Trying to figure out which research place to consider.

and got a royal run-around as well. From my hospital, my state gov't [DMV and health dept...you name it?], The upshot of what I got.. [and my main concern is that I receive IVIG monthly for immune issues] IS THAT -- It would be evaluated on an 'individual basis'. I guess that means, how badly any functional organ part that is left could be transferred successfully?
Humm, IVIG is a product used by many who GET organ transplants to help avoid immune rejection problems...so I guess that aspect is covered?

I got no satisfaction that any part of me could be potentially useful. That was my intent? It would be very nice to KNOW in advance that IF you could donate organs that at least SOME would be useful. Otherwise? I think the idea of donation to specific research hospitals might be a good option.
Somehow these days, it does seem as if simple things [seemingly] such as this should not become so complicated.

Hey! Mods! Doc John? Do you think you could find some few experts in this quarter who could present all the different pros-cons-quirks of this whole thing? That could really be [as Martha would say:] A really good thing!?

I wonder if such experts even 'lurk' here? 's - j