Donor's space

Brain donation: a generous gift for research

The central nervous system is a complex system - as complex as the diseases that affect it.
The medicines that are available for Alzheimer or Parkinson diseases, fronto-temporal dementia, cerebellar ataxia, multiple sclerosis, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are limited and do not modify the course of these disorders. Research must go on. One of the main investigation tools is the analysis of post mortem samples of diseased and control tissues. The Neuro-CEB biobank has been created to support a post mortem brain donation program, in order to collect, exclusively for research, well documented post mortem tissue in compliance with French law.

The Neuro-CEB brain donation program is limited to people living within the French territory. Nethertheless, an overview of our process is presented below. To obtain more information, please refer to the French page.


Who may donate his/her brain to the Neuro-CEB brain bank ?

The Neuro-CEB brain bank collects samples from patients affected by Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebellar ataxias, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Cadasil, or from persons without neurological diseases ("controls").
A medical inclusion questionnaire is sent on request to the coordinator.
Only people living in France can join the Neuro-CEB brain donation program. 

How can one give his/her brain ?

 

A consent is signed by the donor or by a next of kin testifying to his/her will. This consent is archived at the Biobank. The donor receives a memo and several forms eventually requested for the organization of post mortem brain removal. The donor also receives a card testifying to his/her will.  


How is the brain removed post mortem ?

 

The quality of the samples is highly influenced by the time between death and brain removal. The coordinator is on call 7/7 during daytime in order to proceed to the transfer of the corpse to the nearest hospital of our neuropathological network. After the removal of the brain, the deceased is returned to his/her relatives for the funerals.

The transfer of the corpse and the removal of the brain are financially supported by the Neuro-CEB brain bank. 


How are the samples processed ?

 

A random (anonymous) number is attributed to the samples to prevent later identification of the case. One hemisphere - randomy left or right- is examined by a neuropathologist who makes the diagnosis of the disease. The other hemisphere is sampled for research. The samples are conditioned according to several protocols including freezing for further molecular analysis. The frozen samples are stored in deep freezers (-80°C) located at Pitié-Salpétrière hospital.  

The samples are provided to scientists, after examination of their research project by a scientific committee. The results of their research may be published in scientific journals. No individual result may be given back to the family (the samples have been anonymized).

To obtain more information, please refer to the French page.

Do you have any questions ? Do you wish to become donor ?

Please check our  Frequently Asked Questions or contact the coordinator.

Marie-Claire Artaud-Botté

  • Phone : (33 1) 42 17 74 19 (office hours)
  • Email : marie-claire.artaud@neuroceb.org
  • Address : Association Neuro-CEB - Plateforme de Ressources Biologiques - Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière - 47 bd de l'hôpital 75651 Paris cedex 13 - France