Analysis of Brain Donors’ Demographic and Medical Characteristics to Facilitate the Construction of a Human Brain Bank in China

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Zhang, Hanlin^{a; b; 1} | Chen, Kang^{a; b; 1} | Wang, Naili^{a; c} | Zhang, Di^{a; c} | Yang, Qian^{a; d} | Zhang, Qing^{a; d} | Liu, Pan^{a; d} | Wan, Mengyao^b | Gong, Changlin^b | Hong, Xinyu^b | Qiu, Wenying^a | Qian, Xiaojing^a | Chen, Yongmei^{a; *} | Ma, Chao^{a; d; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [b] Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [c] National Experimental Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China | [d] Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Yongmei Chen and Chao Ma, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College. Beijing 100005, China. Tel.: +86 10 69156469; Fax: +86 10 69156469; E-mails: [email protected] (Yongmei Chen) and [email protected] (Chao Ma).

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS/PUMC) Human Brain Bank was established in December 2012 and had accomplished 197 brain donations by November 2017. The brain bank was based on a large-scale willed body donation program in CAMS/PUMC starting from 1999. Demographic and medical characteristic analysis of brain donors was conducted to facilitate the construction of the brain bank. The average postmortem delay of brain donors was 17.7 h and 77.7% of these donors died less than 15 km away from the brain bank. Donors were predominantly with higher-level education (p < 0.001) and at an older age when registration (p < 0.001) and donation (p < 0.001) occurred. Our results elucidated the characteristics of donors in the CAMS/PUMC Human Brain Bank, which may provide useful information to target potential donors and improve the quality and quantity of brain specimens. The current study may pave the way for the construction of a nationwide network of standardized human brain banks in China.

Keywords: Demography, tissue and organ procurement, tissue banks, tissue preservation

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-180779

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 1245-1254, 2018