Pediatric brain cancer research is not proceeding as fast as it could. One of the barriers is the scarcity of autopsy tissue. Researchers need brain tissue to study tumors and develop therapies to treat them. Many families choose autopsy tissue donation as a way to take a final stand against their child’s cancer.
An autopsy tissue donation is the same as a post-mortem tissue donation. If you are a family of a child with terminal brain cancer, or a physician treating a child with terminal brain cancer and you would like to initiate a post-mortem tissue donation, we can help you do that. Please contact us at: nancygoodman@kidsvcancer.org. We will work with your physician to ensure that your child’s autopsy tissue is donated to leading researchers working on your child’s disease.
RESOURCES
Please read the Nature news feature story Tissue Bank Shortage: Brain Child to understand the importance of tissue donation for finding cures.
The study on collection of autopsy tissue from children with DIPG presents data (from 2010) on the researchers’ efforts to collect the tissue.