CTE Brain Donation Registry

The VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank is a NeuroBioBank, established in 2008 at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, MA, under the leadership of neuropathologist and neurologist Dr. Ann McKee. Pathology, the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, is the bedrock of medical research. Usually, before a disease can be diagnosed in living people or treated, it must be understood pathologically.

The purpose of the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank is to collect and study post-mortem human brain and spinal cord tissue to better understand the effects of trauma on the human nervous system. The VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank will initially:

Acquire tissue samples and clinical information from deceased athletes to better understand the pathology, etiology, and epidemiology of trauma related neurodegenerative disorders.
Help establish:
A diagnostic test for CTE in living persons
Genetic risk factors
Environmental risk factors
Treatment for CTE
Report findings to caregivers in a timely fashion
Share data and findings with other researchers
Store tissues for future studies conducted at the CTE Center as well as other laboratories around the world

All publication of findings are de-identified (without name and identifiable details) unless the CTE Center has received permission from the family to publicize the subject’s participation.

Family members of deceased athletes may donate their loved one’s brain and spinal cord after their death to the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank to be examined neuropathologically for evidence of CTE or other disorders of the central nervous system. The family member(s) will be interviewed for a history of their loved one, including their loved one’s athletic and concussion history, educational and occupational history, medical history and history of cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms.

Evan Nair by phone at 617-358-5996 or Madeline Uretsky
by phone at 617-358-6027 . You can reach both Bobby and Madeline on their 24/7 voicemail/pager at 617-992-0615.

For questions regarding your Brain Donation Registry Card, please contact Kelly Dean of the Concussion Legacy Foundation at 857-244-0810 or KDEAN@CONCUSSIONFOUNDATION.ORG