Become a Brain Donor

Becoming a brain donor is a priceless contribution to research. While financial donations provide researchers with the essential funding they need to conduct investigations, brain donations provide the invaluable opportunity to physically examine the area of the body where symptoms originate. The brains of deceased dystonia-affected persons (with all forms of dystonia) and their family members are a precious and scarce resource that researchers value deeply in the pursuit of a cure. You can have a very real effect on the advancement of dystonia research without sacrificing anything from your existing life.

Your body contains clues vital to solving the puzzle of dystonia. Please consider becoming a brain donor and discuss this possibility with your family members.

Click here to begin the registration process.

Why Donate?
Giving scientists the opportunity to study brain tissue is a crucial step toward developing improved therapies and a cure for dystonia in all its forms. Brain donation provides the opportunity to contribute to the field of dystonia research in a practical, tangible way that will assist researchers working today and resonate in future generations.

Volunteering your brain to science so that researchers can learn about dystonia is the greatest donation to research an individual can make. By combining brain donation with your monetary support, you multiply your assistance to the progress of dystonia research immeasurably.

Most religious organizations fully accept brain donation. Tissue donation embodies the highest principles upon which all religions are based: generosity, compassion, and love.

Beginning the Process
The DMRF works in partnership with the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts to assist people interested in registering as brain donors. The first step to becoming a brain donor is to request additional information from the DMRF by completing this form, or contacting the DMRF at 800-377-3978 or brainbank@dystonia-foundation.org

You can also download a registration form here to complete and submit.

Your donor information remains confidential, and you have the right to withdraw from the program at any time.

For urgent matters related to brain tissue donation, contact the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center directly at 1-800-BRAIN BANK or 1-800-272-4622, website http://www.brainbank.mclean.org/, or e-mail of hbtrc@mclean.harvard.edu

Click here for frequently asked questions about brain donation.

Click here to download a brochure about brain donation.

Email this page     Print this page