History

History and Funding of the MS Australia Brain Bank

In 2005, MS Australia Research Management Council identified that the main factor limiting progress in MS research was the availability of high quality human brain tissue from people with MS. With support from the NSW Government’s Office of Science and Medical Research, the MS Australia Brain Bank was established in February 2008 as a joint venture between MS Research Australia and the University of Sydney.

The member institutions of the Australian Brain Bank Network collect and store post mortem tissue for the MS Australia Brain Bank, allowing substantial financial savings through the non-duplication of infrastructure and enabling the largest possible number of brains to be collected on a national level.

The MS Australia Brain Bank administrative office and tissue characterisation laboratory is based at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre located in Camperdown, NSW. In other mainland states, the MS Australia Brain Bank coordinates a donor programme. Potential donors are referred to the Australian Brain Bank Network, which then manages the donor consent process, the collection and processing of tissue, confirms the diagnosis and generates a neuropathology report for the MS Australia Brain Bank.

Financial donations remain vital to the continued existence of the MS Australia Brain Bank and are very welcome!  If you wish to help support us, please click here to donate.