Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
Sponsoring organization
McLean Hospital
http://www.mcleanhospital.org/
Repository website
http://www.brainbank.mclean.org/
Primary contact
George Tejada, MS
Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
McLean Hospital
115 Mill St.
Belmont, MA 02478
Tel 1-617-272-4622
Fax 1-617-855-3199
Sample types available
Fresh quick-frozen tissue blocks or coronal sections (nitrogen vapor or dry ice frozen)
Passive frozen hemispheres (custom dissection of specific anatomic regions)
Formalin-fixed hemispheres (custom dissection of specific anatomic regions)
Sample-processing information
WHOLE FRESH BRAIN TISSUE PROTOCOL
FRESH BRAIN PREPARATION
- Complete the Pathologist Time Record Information Sheet provided.
- Brain: Place whole fresh brain in double plastic bags. Add no solutions. Seal each bag securely.
- Place double-bagged fresh brain in the gallon plastic pail. Fill pail with cold water.
- Pituitary gland (optional): After removing the brain, dissect out the intact pituitary gland, place it in a labeled, small plastic bag, seal bag securely, and then place it in the gallon plastic pail.
- Press lid on firmly to seal pail.
- Label pail with donor’s name.
PACKAGING
- Keep Styrofoam cooler in the plastic bag-lined cardboard shipping box. This shipping box assembly will be used for transporting the brain to the Brain Bank.
- Seal the pail securely within a plastic bag.
- Place the bagged pail in the center of the plastic-lined Styrofoam shipping cooler.
- Fill Styrofoam cooler with chipped ice or ice cubes (wet ice) so that the pail is completely surrounded by ice.
- Seal the inner plastic bag securely. Replace lid on cooler box. Seal the outer plastic bag securely.
- Enclose a copy of the donor consent, Pathologist Time Record Information Sheet, and any available medical records along with the tissue. Tape the cardboard box closed securely for shipping.
SHIPPING
Call the Brain Bank when the tissue is ready for shipping. To facilitate transportation, we will need your exact location and the time the shipping box will be ready. Courier arrangements will be made to pick up the box from your facility.
1/2 FIXED & 1/2 FROZEN BRAIN TISSUE PROTOCOL
TISSUE PREPARATION
- Complete the Pathologist Time Record Information Sheet provided.
- Cerebrospinal fluid (optional): Before removing the brain from the skull, obtain a 5- to 10-ml sample of CSF from the lateral ventricles. Freeze the sample in one or two labeled plastic sample tubes.
- Brain: Remove the brain including brainstem and cerebellum, and record whole brain weight. Bisect brain into right and left halves by cutting in the midsagittal plane through the corpus callosum, midbrain, cerebellum, and brainstem. Fix 1/2 brain in 10% buffered formalin. Place the flat, medial surface side down toward the bottom of the plastic bucket. Freeze 1/2 brain in a freezer. Cover the brain with plastic wrap or put in a Ziploc bag and place in a freezer with the flat, medial surface side down on a smooth, flat surface.
- Pituitary gland (optional): After removing the brain, dissect out the intact pituitary gland, place it in a labeled, small plastic bag, and then place it in a freezer.
- Label all specimens clearly with the decedent’s name.
SHIPPING
The Brain Bank will send the necessary shipping instructions and materials to your location.
WHOLE FIXED BRAIN TISSUE PROTOCOL
TISSUE PREPARATION
- Complete the Pathologist Time Record Information Sheet provided.
- Brain: Remove the brain including brainstem and cerebellum, and record weight. Place whole brain in a plastic pail containing 10% buffered formalin. Place dura matter, if available, in the formalin along with the brain.
- Secure lid firmly on the pail.
- Label specimen clearly with the decedent’s name.
SHIPPING
The Brain Bank will send the necessary shipping instructions and materials to your location.
WHOLE FIXED BRAIN & 1/4 CEREBELLUM FROZEN TISSUE PROTOCOL
TISSUE PREPARATION
- Complete the Pathologist Time Record Information Sheet provided.
- Brain: Remove the brain including brainstem and cerebellum, and record whole brain weight. Cut and remove approximately 1/4 of the cerebellum before fixing brain. Place whole brain in a plastic pail containing 10% buffered formalin. Place dura matter, if available, in the formalin along with the brain. Freeze 1/4 cerebellum in a freezer. Cover the cerebellar specimen with plastic wrap or put it in a Ziploc bag and place in a freezer with a flat surface side down on a smooth, flat surface.
- Pituitary gland (optional): After removing the brain, dissect out the intact pituitary gland, place it in a labeled, small plastic bag, and then place it in the freezer.
- Label all specimens clearly with the decedent’s name.
SHIPPING
The Brain Bank will send the necessary shipping instructions and materials to your location.
Data available for each sample
Not specified.
Quantity of available samples
The Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center stopped collecting multiple sclerosis tissue in 2008 but may have MS samples available. Call or email George Tejada for the specific number of samples currently available.
Who can request samples
Not specified.
Cost
With the NIH funding that supports the HBTRC, all disbursements are made at no cost to the recipient laboratory.
How to request samples
Fill out a Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center Investigator Request:
http://www.brainbank.mclean.org/PDF%20files/TissueRequest.PDF.
Requirements associated with sample use
Not specified.
Ongoing sample collection?
Multiple sclerosis samples are not currently being accepted. Collection for other disorders and controls is ongoing.
Sample publications