Brain Donation for Centenarian and Offspring Participants

If you are looking for information on the BU CTE Center or the UNITE Brain Bank, click HERE.

If you are looking for information on the BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center or HOPE study, click HERE.

This page is intended as a resource for participants enrolled in the brain donation program through the Resilience/Resistance against Alzheimer’s Disease in Centenarians and Offspring (RADCO) study, and their loved ones.

If you are a RADCO participant, please consider enrolling in the brain donation program. Call the RADCO study program manager, Cristian Ibarra, at 617-353-0919 to discuss the program and have your questions answered.

Steps to take at the time of death or if death is imminent:

• Your loved one should call our 24/7 brain donation line at 617-991-8545.

• The study staff will coordinate the donation with the funeral home.

• To help us preserve brain tissue, ice packs or bags of ice should be placed on and beneath your head as soon as possible after death.

It is crucial that we are informed quickly because certain tests must be done within a few hours of death.

Phone contacts

Be the Brain Behind the Breakthroughs

RADCO Brain Donation Flyer (PDF)

Volunteering to donate your brain could help lead to better understanding, treatment, and prevention of brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

What is brain donation?

Brain donation is different from other organ donation. As an organ donor, you agree to give your organs to other people to help keep them alive. As a brain donor, your brain will be used for research purposes only—it will not be given to another person. Our scientists use brain tissue donated after death to better understand if and how some people markedly delay or even escape Alzheimer’s disease and other related diseases.

Why do people donate their brains to research at the end of life?

• Help researchers better understand the causes and potential treatments for brain diseases that affect millions of people.
• Have a broad, positive impact on public health and future generations.
• Help family members learn more about any diagnosis of brain diseases that may run in the family.

Why is brain donation important?

Brain donation is a valuable gift to scientific research for several reasons.

First, examining the brain after death is the only way to reach a definite diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. If the donor had memory problems or dementia, the diagnosis can provide families with closure by informing them whether the diagnosis was, without a doubt, Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, if the donor had good memory and thinking skills, we can determine if this was because they avoided Alzheimer’s brain changes (e.g., had resistance to Alzheimer’s) or if they had brain changes related to Alzheimer’s disease but were able to ward off its effects on thinking (e.g., had resilience to Alzheimer’s).

Second, it provides tissue for scientists to measure markers of brain health and brain disease and study what causes Alzheimer’s disease and how some people are able to avoid it. The hope is to identify treatments against Alzheimer’s disease and ways to improve brain health.

How does brain donation work?

To volunteer, register ahead of time through the RADCO brain donation program. At the time of death, a designated loved one or health professional will call the program manager. A specialist will carefully remove the brain through the back of the head in a way that does not affect the person’s appearance. The brain is then sent to our brain bank and with researchers working to understand brain diseases. The body remains with the family or funeral home for burial, cremation, or related ceremonies.

Who can donate?

Every participant in the Resilience/Resistance to Alzheimer’s Disease in Centenarians and Offspring (RADCO) study is eligible, including individuals with or without memory problems. Once the participant decides to donate their brain, the participant gives permission while they are alive, and the next of kin is also asked to sign an acknowledgement of the donor’s wishes.