Standardized Operational Protocol for the China Human Brain Bank Consortium

Abstract

The study of post-mortem human brains is fundamental to the discovery and diagnosis of most neurological diseases and an in-depth understanding of brain structure, function and disorders. Human brain banks use a standardized protocol to collect, process, and store post-mortem human brains and related tissues, together with relevant clinical information, and to provide the tissue samples and data to foster neuroscience research. A Standardized Operational Protocol (SOP) that is approved by and can be abided by all of the human brain banks in the China Human Brain Bank Consortium is critical to developing brain research in China. The first SOP of human brain banking in China was published in 2017 following the foundation of the China Human Brain Bank Consortium. So far, 20 members from different regions in China have joined the consortium, forming a nationwide collaboration network of human brain banks. To provide brain tissue samples of good quality and consistency to meet the increasing demand for neuroscience research, a revised SOP was drafted by experts from the China Human Brain Bank Consortium. Significant improvements in this new version of SOP include strengthened ethical guidelines, recruitment of matching controls, and more brain regions to be sampled for neuropathological evaluation.