The Brain Donor Project is a nonprofit HQ in Washington DC that helps people donate their brain after death for scientific research.
BDP partners with the NIH NeuroBioBank. Their goal is to increase the supply of human brain tissue so scientists can study things like Alzheimer’s, depression, Parkinson’s, and how the brain works in general.
This is not organ donation for transplant. Your brain isn’t going into another person, it’s used for research.
Why this exists (and why it matters)
Scientists actually can’t fully study the brain while you’re alive at the microscopic level.
So, donated brains help researchers understand diseases. They can confirm diagnoses (sometimes the only definitive way). One brain can support dozens to hundreds of studies.
That’s why they need both people with brain disorders and totally healthy people (as “control” brains).
How it works
You pre-register online. They connect you to a specific brain bank. Be sure to tell your family your wishes (this part is critical). When you die, the brain bank is quickly notified, a specialist removes the brain (yes timing matters). Your body is returned for funeral/cremation. Family later receives report of any significant findings.
Donating your brain = contributing raw data to neuroscience.
Homepage
https://braindonorproject.org/
