The Ultimate Gift
"Brain donation is a precious and ultimate gift that advances scientific research and gives hope to future generations."
When you donate your brain to the Douglas – Bell Canada Brain Bank, you are making a tangible and invaluable contribution to the advancement of science. Donation is voluntary and has no financial benefits.
Who can donate?
Any resident of Quebec. No matter what your state of physical or mental health, your donation is important.
If potential donors are unable to give consent or are minors, a legal representative (guardian, curator or mandatory) can give consent on their behalf.
Donations may not be accepted from:
- people in a state of brain death
- people who have an increased risk for prion-related illnesses (such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).
How to make a brain donation?
Before making a donation to the Douglas – Bell Canada Brain Bank, it is essential that you speak with your relatives to make them aware of your decision. Then, you need to read the information given on this site and in the information brochure, and sign the enclosed consent forms (pages 9 to 15).
Families interested in learning more about family genetic research should contact the Brain Bank office. The special consent forms will then be sent to each family member for their consideration.
You can opt out of the program by notifying the Brain Bank.
What should be done at the time of death?
Contact the Douglas – Bell Canada Brain Bank as soon as possible. An employee will take charge of the donation process, answer all your questions, and ensure that this ultimate gift is treated respectfully and effectively. A representative is always available – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Process
Collection
Brains are collected according to a strict protocol. Samples can come from two different sources:
- From a hospital center as close as possible to the place of death, where the tissue will be removed.
- From the Montreal morgue, or at a hospital center, in accordance with a protocol established with the Bureau du coroner du Québec; cerebral tissue is taken as soon as permitted by the Bureau.
Storage
Once the specimen reaches our laboratories, the two hemispheres of the brain are separated. One hemisphere is immediately frozen and stored at - 80°C in special freezers connected to a monitoring station. The other one is fixed in formalin and autopsied to establish the neuropathological diagnosis of the donor.
Autopsies
When it comes to research into the human brain, a brain autopsy is invaluable to establish or confirm the clinical diagnosis; that is why it is mandatory.
It is important to mention that removing the brain does not interfere in any way with the funeral service. There are usually no visible scars and a donor can have an open casket visitation if he/she or the family so chooses. A 24-hour delay, however, should be foreseen.
For neuropathological assessments, Brain Bank staff work directly with neuropathologists and pathologists at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, the Montreal Neurological Institute, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke and the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
Distribution
The stored tissue is made available to researchers upon request. It will be used for research projects on suicide or other neurological or psychiatric disorders.
Confidentiality
The Brain Bank treats personal donor information as highly confidential and conforms to the Quebec laws. Specifically, research results are not written in the medical file and the donor's name will not be included in any piece of information sent to researchers. All distributed samples are coded in order to guarantee donor anonymity.
Support the Douglas –Bell Canada Brain Bank
To honor the memory of a loved one and financially support the Douglas – Bell Canada Brain Bank's activities, you can make a financial donation. Send your donation to the Douglas Institute Foundation and specify that it is dedicated to the Brain Bank.
