Sweeney Alicia, Rush Amanda, Stevens Julia, Sutherland Greg T
New South Wales Brain Tissue Research Centre, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Charles Perkins Centre and School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia.
Biopreserv Biobank. 2025 Feb;23(1):31-38. doi: 10.1089/bio.2023.0158. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
Postmortem brain donation for medical research is a little-known form of organ donation. While most brain research is carried out using animal models, many neurological diseases are uniquely human. Greater availability of human postmortem brain tissue from diseased individuals and controls would therefore improve the development of treatments for neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Globally, organ donation for medical research is dwarfed by organ donation for transplantation. In 2021, 36% of Australians were registered organ donors for transplantation, with public "in-principle" support even higher, at 76%. In contrast, there are little data on Australian or international brain donation rates for research. A 30-item online survey was conducted to ascertain knowledge of, and attitudes toward, brain donation in Australia. Of the respondents, 12/237 (5%) were current brain donors and excluded from further analysis. Of the remaining 225, 75% were registered organ donors for transplant. The vast majority ( = 189/225, 84%) of respondents supported or strongly supported the principle of brain donation. However, of those registered for transplantation or whole-body donors, 93/170 (55%) were not aware that brain donation was possible, while 50%, alternatively or also, thought that registering as an organ donor for transplantation rendered them a brain donor by default. Only 9/225 (4%) respondents indicated that they would definitely not donate their brain in the future, while 27 remained unsure. There is prominent public support for brain donation in Australia, with 84% of respondents willing to donate their brain. Yet, the extent of public misconceptions on brain donation for research suggests the need for further education on all types of organ donation, so individuals may make informed decisions.
用于医学研究的尸体脑捐赠是一种鲜为人知的器官捐赠形式。虽然大多数脑研究是使用动物模型进行的，但许多神经系统疾病是人类所特有的。因此，从患病个体和对照中获取更多的人类尸体脑组织将有助于改善神经和神经精神疾病治疗方法的研发。在全球范围内，用于医学研究的器官捐赠与用于移植的器官捐赠相比微不足道。2021年，36%的澳大利亚人登记成为器官移植捐赠者，公众的“原则上”支持率甚至更高，达到76%。相比之下，关于澳大利亚或国际上用于研究的脑捐赠率的数据很少。我们开展了一项包含30个项目的在线调查，以了解澳大利亚人对脑捐赠的认识和态度。在受访者中，12/237（5%）是当前的脑捐赠者，被排除在进一步分析之外。在其余225人中，75%是登记的器官移植捐赠者。绝大多数受访者（189/225，84%）支持或强烈支持脑捐赠原则。然而，在那些登记进行移植或全身捐赠的人中，93/170（55%）不知道可以进行脑捐赠，而50%的人则认为，登记成为器官移植捐赠者就默认成为了脑捐赠者。只有9/225（4%）的受访者表示他们将来肯定不会捐赠自己的大脑，而27人仍不确定。澳大利亚公众对脑捐赠有显著的支持，84%的受访者愿意捐赠自己的大脑。然而，公众对用于研究的脑捐赠存在诸多误解，这表明需要对所有类型的器官捐赠进行进一步教育，以便个人能够做出明智的决定。
