.
The following article appeared as supplement No.16 May/June 1998 in MS Matters. For many years people have carried donor cards so that their organs, such as kidneys and lungs, can be used to help others. Lorna Layward and Cynthia Benz explain how people can bequeath their central nervous system tissues to a new facility to accelerate research into MS.

Tissue donation may not be everyone's choice. It may be an easier legacy for an individual to make than for those left behind to accept. However, the contribution to a better understanding of neurological conditions is invaluable. Research matters - it matters so much that many people endure all weathers to collect cash to fund it. Fundraisers of all kinds express a real interest in what research is being done, and how close scientists are to finding the causes and subsequent treatments for MS. And, of course, people with MS and those close to them have a personal interest. However, research relies on more than money.

Research requires painstaking examination and analysis of raw material - human tissue. The MS Society's new tissue bank means that anyone can make a last, and lasting, gift in the fight against MS. Vital parts of the central nervous system - the brain and spinal cord - and other tissue and fluids can help explain MS and how to combat it.

Tissue banks have contributed over the years to a number of major advances in research into both the causes and treatment of varied neurological conditions. A number of tissue banks in Britain specialise in collecting and storing tissue from people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia as well as MS. Sometimes mistakenly called 'brain banks', these tissue banks take responsibility for collecting post-mortem tissue from two groups of donors: those who have a recognised neurological complaint and those who do not, the latter commonly known as 'controls'.

Tissue banking is not new to the Society and for many years we funded two tissue banks in the UK. However, in 1996 the Society reviewed its support for this important resource. It was felt that there were many advantages in having a centralised bank that could provide a coordinated approach to obtaining and distributing tissue, and that this approach would concentrate effort and finances.

page 1 - introduction
page 2 - setting up the bank
page 3 - what will the tissue be used for?
page 4 - how does the tissue bank do its work?
page 5 - how can I help?