Resolving to donate brain and tissue to the National MS Brain Bank is a new year's resolution that goes far beyond the standard eat better and exercise more promises that so many of us make to ourselves every year. It's deeply meaningful, profoundly personal, and, as Dr. Riley describes it 8 minutes in, it's a heroic step in choosing to play an important role in curing MS.

The brain bank is unique in its lifecycle approach. “We have people volunteering to donate their organs,” Reich explains, “but while they’re living, we can collect the data we need to make the best use of that tissue when the time comes.” Advances in technology, including data collection and high-resolution imaging, will help optimize and sync that information to uncover new treatments — and hopefully someday, a cure. “The brain bank is a place where researchers can come together and not just request tissue but contribute to the community of ideas that will be critical for answering the questions we must answer in order to stop this disease.”

Authored in part by Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research recipient Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie, suggests that 62% of people with MS would consider brain donation. MS research relies heavily on donations of post-mortem brain tissue, and yet little is known about the attitudes of people with MS about brain donation. This article assesses the attitudes of people with MS toward brain donation.