Leave a Legacy to Advance Lupus Research: Brain Tissue Donation Program
Information for People with Lupus
The brain is one of many organs that can be affected by lupus. In fact, up to 95% of people with lupus experience neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) which describes a wide range of brain-involved symptoms — symptoms like not thinking clearly, forgetting things, or even seizures, stroke, and psychosis.
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) funds research to address NPSLE and is supporting a clinical study testing a specific treatment approach.
But to gain a deeper understanding of what’s going on in the brain, it’s critical to look at human brain tissue. Many groundbreaking discoveries have been made in other fields like autism, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s by studying brain tissue from deceased individuals with these diseases. Now we want to do the same in lupus.
So, the LRA is asking people with lupus and people who love them to make one of the most meaningful contributions to advance our understanding of how lupus affects the brain. Please consider pledging to donate your brain tissue to lupus research upon your passing.
The LRA has partnered with the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) to develop a program to recover donated brain tissue from deceased individuals with lupus. It is critical to look at brain tissue from people who passed away after having lived with lupus as well as tissue from those who did not have lupus. To that end, we encourage people who do not have lupus to also consider donating their brain tissue.
Committing to donate an organ after you pass away is a priceless gift and legacy that you can bring to advance lupus treatments for others with lupus and for generations to come.
Click here for more information about this vital program. En Espanol
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How Do I Donate?
To learn more about the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) and the donation process, please call 800.BRAINBANK (800.272.4622) or visit their website.