Anatomical material
Anatomical material collected by Bristlecones Body Donation includes human and animal samples obtained after very short ischemic intervals. This biological material, together with an anonymized summary of medical data, can be provided to scientific researchers worldwide. Our main goal is to promote understanding of brain function and structure, and development of therapies for neurological and psychiatric disorders. While our primary focus is the nervous system—the brain in particular—we also collect samples from other organs.
Requests for samples should be directed by email to info@bristlecones.org with the subject line: "Sample Request (Institution Name)". Please provide a brief description of the research project, highlighting any needs that cannot be met by traditional brain or tissue banks providing frozen or formalin-preserved tissue collected after long postmortem intervals. All requests will be reviewed by our scientific experts.
Eligibility
Applicants must be employees of academic and/or research institutions, including pharmaceutical industry or contract research organizations.
Cost recovery
Bristlecones provides biological material obtained on the basis of informed consent, with no compensation to donors. Recipients will need to cover the cost of collecting the anatomical material—not payment for the material itself, but the cost of donor recruitment, personnel involved in sample retrieval and preparation, and storage and distribution. When submitting research projects that plan to use the samples, we recommend including an estimated financial contribution in the budget. Please contact us first.
Material Transfer Agreement
All anatomical material is supplied subject to conditions stated in a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), which will be provided once the first application is approved. The MTA must be signed by the legal representative of the recipient institution. It functions as a framework agreement and remains in effect indefinitely. Applicants affiliated with a given recipient institution may file additional applications covered by the MTA already in force. The recipient institution is responsible for ensuring that applicants are familiar with the MTA's contents.