Brains for Dementia Research

In 2010, the SWDBB became one of the recruitment centres and member brain banks in the ARUK and Alzheimer’s Society-funded Brains for Dementia Research (BDR) project. The other participating brain banks are the London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank, Oxford Brain Bank, Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource and Manchester Brain Bank, and a research centre at Cardiff University.

Processes were standardised across brain banks, allowing researchers to access tissue from all five brain banks for a single project. This in turn enables much larger research projects to be carried out, as well as allowing for research into more rare forms of dementia.

In each centre, people with and without cognitive impairment or dementia are regularly visited by our specialist clinical staff. During these assessments we collect information about each prospective donor’s personal and family history, while monitoring their cognitive ability and behaviour over time.

When the time comes for these donations to inform research, the tissue is accompanied by a detailed history and information that lets us see how brain changes correlate with symptoms.

3,278 people registered to be a part of the BDR project, and the project is now closed to new participants, but information continues to be collected on the original participants, adding to the wealth of knowledge that this project has already provided.

In April 2026 the SWDBB became the Lead Centre for the project.