Brain Autopsy & Donation

The Massachusetts ADRC has an active brain donation program at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for subjects enrolled in our research studies and patients of the MGH.

For general information, contact Judy Johanson (617) 726-5571.

Please note: At the time of death, your health care proxy or next of kin should call 617-726-1728. If after hours, press “0” (urgent matter/brain donation).

Precious Gift

Brain donation is one of the most valuable gifts that a patient and his or her family can give. It provides families with a definitive neuropathology diagnosis of a loved one, and allows researchers to perform anatomical and biochemical analyses that will enhance our ability to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Working together with our pathologists, a family can learn more about the connections between the physical state of the brain and the clinical and behavioral symptoms of a patient’s illness.

Our brain donation program welcomes inquiries from healthy donors as well as those with neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; frontotemporal dementias (including Pick’s disease & Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)); dementia with Lewy bodies; other Parkinsonian diseases (including Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD)); vascular dementias (including Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA)); dementia pugilistica (“Boxer’s Syndrome”) and other rarer forms of neurodegenerative disorders.

All samples are distributed in a completely de-identified manner, keeping the identities of donors to our program confidential. The decision to participate is usually made jointly by the patient and family. In general, we are only able to accommodate brain donations from subjects who have participated in our research and/or clinical programs.

For more information regarding our brain donation program, please contact our Neuropathology Core Director, Matthew P. Frosch, MD, PhD.