Brain Donations...

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elizzza811

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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.
 
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.
 
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. :roflmao:

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)...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/My-Stroke-Insight-Scientists-Personal/dp/B004HEXSLI/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c"]Amazon.com: My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey: Jill Bolte Taylor: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41o0JsvGxIL.@@AMEPARAM@@41o0JsvGxIL[/ame]

It seems like it might be an interesting read, only some reviewers say the language can get a little bit new-wavy.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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It's not like we need our brain after we die, unless it's for religious reasons.
 
Mines probably full of air, feels like it anyway. :p

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?
 
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. :p
 
I know this post is old... I was reading about this, and I remembered how a neuroscientist or pathologist I forgot who took out einstein's brain without the permission of his family and it got me thinking and I found this article. I just find it creepy I know that the tissue is dead after death and damaged, but it's basically what you are, even though you are no longer conscious. I find it hard to imagine to have my brain in a jar, or donating my body to medical sciences... Sure, I'll offer organs such as my heart or kidneys, but brain? I find it too creepy in my opinion. What's your opinion?

I wouldn't mind having my heart, kidneys, or any other organ donated to people who would need them. Not my brain! I want my brain to be cremated with my body and then put into the ocean when I die.

Although I find this interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjPi9KQWFjE
 
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thanks for the link. i think i could do it. as he said they need brains to help learn more about neuro diseases so if we donate that's literally who we are helping.
i'd write strongly on my legal forms that the donation is 100% for epilepsy research; put it this way notime- if i die they can use my brain to help you get better. considering that some of mine is missing they may not put it at the top of the list but it will be in there somewhere ;)
 
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