Brain Donations...

[elizzza811]

Apparently the brain needs to be registered separately...

http://www.brainbank.mclean.org/

I'm actually thinking of doing this, since I have both epilepsy and pretty crippling OCD. I'm a little squeamish though about taking the plunge and commiting to this.

[qtowngirl]

Not a bad idea as the brain is no different than any other organ that needs research; but I'm not too keen on the name behind it. At first when I read your post I thought it was some sort of gag, then got reading it and jumped a bit, 'The Brain Bank' ??
You don't hear of The Heart Bank or Liver Bank. Just doesn't make it sound like it has much credit behind it, esp. considering the preciousness of what it's supporting. Almost sounds comical.

[Endless]

I wondered a bit when I read it, too, and the website looks a bit wonkey. I did some more research and it looks like the brain bank is connected to Mclean hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard.


http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/resear.../brainbank.php

[elizzza811]

At first when I read your post I thought it was some sort of gag, then got reading it and jumped a bit, 'The Brain Bank' ??

I didn't even think of how the title of this thread might sound.

I agree though; it is sort of a strange name for something so important. I'm still considering it - it's just too bad that I won't be there to be able to overlook the dissection of my own pathological (OCD-seizuring) brain. Then again, what if part of me is still trapped inside there when they start cutting? - I think that's my biggest fear. Could you imagine?

Endless, you're right, it's valid. Here's where I found the information, from the author of this book, a neuroanatomist who suffered a stroke...(scroll to the interview with the author)...

Amazon.com: My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey: Jill Bolte Taylor: Books

 

Amazon.com: My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey: Jill Bolte Taylor: Books

It seems like it might be an interesting read, only some reviewers say the language can get a little bit new-wavy.

[elizzza811]

Here are a few more:

New York Brain Bank at Columbia University:
http://www.nybb.hs.columbia.edu/

NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank:
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/BTBank/Family/index.html

Canadian Brain Tissue Bank:
http://tinyurl.com/6pmwgqd

Australian Brain Bank Network:
http://www.nnf.com.au/platforms/abbn/

[Birdbomb]

The only way to find a cure is by brain studies. What a very important find! Every member on this site and other E sites should seriously consider donating their brain to science.

[Cint]

I agree. I am seriously considering donating my brain to research when I die. I have the book, "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD. She trained at Harvard and suffered a massive stroke in the left hemisphere. It took eight years for her to fully recover. She is a spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Brain Bank). For anyone who has been or is thinking about brain surgery, read this book.

[Birdbomb]

It's not like we need our brain after we die, unless it's for religious reasons.

[lottalead]

i am already a doner why not give my brain to something that interests me

[CathyAnn31]

Mines probably full of air, feels like it anyway.

[no.guru]

Mines probably full of air, feels like it anyway.

That's some pretty articulate air.

Donation is something to consider. A medical friend of mine said she would never do full body donation because of how she saw students behave in undergraduate school. I didn't ask for specifics since that sounded gruesome enough.

Many end up donating body parts after they're gone, whether they intend to or not: Who Owns Your Body Parts?

[CathyAnn31]

Has anyone seen Body Worlds? It was fascinating to me. I looked into donating my body until I read you have to pay.

But yes, I've been an organ doner since I was 18. I was joking around when I said my brain was full of air.

[no.guru]

I was joking around when I said my brain was full of air.

Yes, and I took your joke and turned it into a compliment.

Seriously looking into body donation now.