Brains for dementia research

Sue Eckstein, lecturer in Clinical & Biomedical Ethics at Brighton & Sussex Medical School, led the second of BDR's training days for those involved in aspects of brain donation, especially the taking of consent and ethical issues related to this.

Those attending came from Oxford, Newcastle, Cambridge, Cardiff and Lincolnshire as well as the London area, and in the main were clinicians taking part in the recruitment and assessment of potential donors. Some technicians and managers working in hospital mortuaries also attended.

Professor Jonathan Montgomery of the University of Southampton spoke on the legal aspects of consent as defined in the Human Tissue Act, while Professor Bobbie Farsides, also at Brighton & Sussex, approached the topic from a more philosophical and ethical perspective, discussed in the context of respect for the dead and their families.

Dr Julian Sheather is ethics manager at the British Medical Association and spoke on the capacity to give consent, as set out in the Mental Capacity Act.

Experience of taking consent for donation from relatives was provided by Tracey Millar, Research Nurse at the MRC Sudden Death Brain Bank at Edinburgh.

The perspective of donation from a relative and carer's point of view was given by Angela Clayton-Turner, whose husband is in the late stages of dementia.

Participants took part in a case study where a father has advanced dementia and his family has conflicting ideas about how to deal with the issue. What a professional might need to do to resolve the situation.

If you have any queries about our training courses or on ethical or other issues please contact the Brains for Dementia Research Coordinating Centre on 020 7848 8377 or email us at bdr.office@kcl.ac.uk

Useful links

Human Tissue Authority, revised Codes of Practice

Mental Capacity Act, Code of Practice