A Bird's Eye View of
Brain Bank Functioning
Understanding the step-by-step process of brain donation, collection, and microscopic processing.
The Brain Donation Process
1 Receiving Calls
Brain Bank staff receives calls from bereaved families, and provides assistance for arranging transport to the Mortuary for the postmortem. Following documents are required from the relatives:
- • Copy of Death certificate from a Registered Medical Practitioner
- • Medical records of patient
- • Brain donation card if previously registered
- • Photo ID proof of the deceased and proof of relationship of relative signing consent
2 In the Mortuary
Relatives are explained about the entire procedure. Documents provided by the family will be scrutinized.
- • Signature of first degree relatives (spouses/children/siblings) on Informed consent form.
- • Postmortem procedure will take 1 – 1½ hours.
- • Following post mortem, the body will be handed back to the relatives with due respect. Care is taken to ensure there is no disfigurement. The body is thoroughly washed, and handed over draped in a clean white cloth.
3 After Postmortem
Following documents should be collected from the Mortuary:
- • Acknowledgement form of brain/spinal cord donation from Brain Bank
- • Copy of informed consent signed
- • Death certificate (original)
4 Following Donation
You receive the following documents from Brain Bank:
- • Thanks giving letter for donation along with Certificate of donation
- • Final postmortem report (within 3 months)
- • Annual update on information about Brain Bank activities
What Do We Do With The Brain?
The journey of the tissue from gross examination to microscopic slides for research.
1. Brain Examination
Fresh brain is extracted following postmortem. The brain is examined for any abnormalities from the top and bottom.
2. Brain Bisection
The brain is bisected into 2 halves: Right Hemisphere and Left hemisphere. One half of the brain will be sliced for freezing at -86°C. The other half will be fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for microscopic examination.
3. Slicing the Cerebral Hemisphere
One half of the brain is sliced from front to back (like a bread loaf) serially in coronal sections. The slices are arranged serially on a dissection board, carefully examined and photographed.
4. Storing Fresh Tissue
The brain slices are placed carefully in Ziplock covers, each labelled with a case number and anatomical site. They are stored in deep freezers at -86°C, awaiting use by researchers.
5. The Other Half (Formalin Fixation)
The other half is immersed in buffered neutral formalin for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. It is then examined under a microscope by a neuropathologist to ascertain if the brain tissue is normal or has any disease.
6. Gross Examination & Sampling
The brain is sliced and the interior is examined. The neuropathologist makes 20-25 blocks of tissue (~2x2cm sized) from different anatomical areas to be placed into labelled cassettes for processing.
7. Tissue Processing & Embedding
Cassettes are put into a tissue processor and embedded in molten paraffin wax. A bit of brain tissue is put into a mold and embedded to produce a block. The wax hardens the tissue on a freezing plate.
8. Sectioning
Thin sections are cut from the wax blocks on a microtome. The tissue sections are spread out on a heated water bath and collected onto glass slides.
9. Staining
Sections are stained with various dyes to show the microscopic structure of the brain tissue and assess changes caused by various diseases. This produces a final set of stained slides.
Visual Walkthrough
