Apex Neuroscience

Recovery Partners

Recovery Partners are pathologists, pathology assistants, autopsy assistants, deiners, private pathology companies, or other organizations or individuals who are technically skilled at brain tissue procurement. They make it possible for individuals who do not live close to our facility to contribute to our neuroscience research through brain donation.

We have a tremendous need for more Recovery Partners across the United States. We can also collaborate with Recovery Partners in certain other countries. In the United States, no specific degree is required for this work, but experience with medical procedures and attention to detail are essential.

If you're interested in becoming a Recovery Partner, please contact us to apply. We provide more information about the role below.

About Our Brain Bank

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At the Apex Neuroscience brain bank, our research focuses on brain banking methods and neuroanatomy. We will be expanding our research into the study of neurobiological disorders in the coming years, especially psychiatric disorders. We use both light microscopy and electron microscopy to study the brain samples donated to us.

So far, we have banked more than 100 brains. By expanding our geographical reach through collaboration with more pathology partners, we are planning to significantly increase our collection. Our goal is to achieve the sample size necessary to support groundbreaking research into the neurobiology of health and disease, paving the way for future improved treatments.

What Recovery Partners Do

After the death of one of our enrollees, our Recovery Specialists travel to where their body is located. Typically this is a local funeral home with an appropriate space available. Recovery Specialists are not responsible for transport of the body or any other aspect of the process other than the recovery of the brain tissue.

The most important step, which is highly time sensitive, is the immersion of the whole brain in neutral-buffered formalin. This requires the removal of the skull and dura. Unlike other brain banks, in our protocol there is no freezing of brain tissue, as we are focused on the detailed morphology across the entire brain. This streamlines the process for our Recovery Partners.

If at all possible, it is essential for the procedure to be performed within 24 hours after death. However, ideally it can be done much sooner than that. The shorter the interval between death and the procedure, the more research that can be performed with this invaluable donation.

The brain then needs to fix for several weeks before it is stable enough to be shipped to our brain bank in Salem, Oregon. This step is not time sensitive like the initial extraction procedure is. Our staff can walk you through the entire process.

Working as a Recovery Partner

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Recovery Partners act as independent contractors. They receive compensation per procedure, which is either paid by our organization or the family/estate of the person making the donation. We guarantee payment.

To qualify as a Recovery Partner, it is necessary to have basic knowledge of how to perform the procedure. However, we are happy to provide targeted training and guidance to help improve the quality of tissue recovery, based on our experience in performing hundreds of these procedures. Please contact us for more information about the training we can provide if you're interested.

Required equipment includes an autopsy saw, osteotome, scalpel, other dissecting instruments such as scissors, neutral-buffered formalin, and a plastic container large enough for the brain to be fully immersed. If you are not sure whether you have the required equipment, we can send you a detailed list.

Safety is critical in this work. As independent contractors, Recovery Partners are responsible for following proper safety protocols, including use of appropriate personal protective equipment and proper handling of instruments, specimens, and chemicals.

We expect our Recovery Partners to be available for contact 7 days a week during the daytime, such as 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. For those who are also able to perform overnight procedures, in the event that is necessary, there will be a bonus payment. We prefer to work with individuals or teams who have backup options, in case they are not available.

Good communication is essential for this role. Recovery Partners need to be reachable by phone, and should respond promptly when contacted about a potential case. We always do our best to let our Recovery Partners know in advance about any cases that might be occurring soon, when it is possible to do so.

Compensation

Recovery Partners provide an extremely valuable service. Our goal is that they are compensated appropriately so that they are happy with it and desire to perform these services again in the future.

Recovery Partners set their own fees. They receive compensation per procedure, which is either paid by our organization or the family/estate of the person making the donation. We guarantee payment for agreed upon fees.

To provide context of the relevant costs, for a proficient technician, a typical procedure is expected to take around one hour and the shipment process may take an additional hour. Travel to and from the site of brain donation needs to be accounted for. Equipment needs to be cleaned and formalin restocked. And of course, the ad hoc nature of the work makes it more difficult. Currently, a typical fee is around $1000-1500, although this can vary based on the cost of living in the area.

For extended travel beyond typical, it is reasonable to add an additional fee. Because minimizing the post-mortem interval is critical, adding an additional fee for overnight procedures or ones that are inconvenient to perform (e.g. on a holiday) is also reasonable.

Consent Forms

The brain is legally donated to our partner organization, Oregon Body Gift. This organization is licensed as a Nontransplant Anatomical Research Recovery Organization (NARRO) in Oregon. It can accept anatomical donations via the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. After the brain is received by Oregon Body Gift, it is transferred to the Apex Neuroscience brain bank.

If you are interested, you can read more about how individuals can enroll to donate their brain to science here.

Although this is not required by our organization, some Recovery Partners may have their own consent forms that need to be filled out before the procedure can be performed. If so, we require that you provide these to us in advance, so that we can share them with the donor and their family prior to death.

Becoming a Recovery Partner

We are actively expanding our network of Recovery Partners to better serve donors and their families. If you're interested in supporting our mission and becoming a Recovery Partner, please contact us with:

We will respond promptly with more information about our procedures and requirements.

Thank You

Thank you so much for your interest in this role. Your work as a Recovery Partner helps make critical contributions to neuroscience research possible. We greatly appreciate the efforts and contributions of our Recovery Partners. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to contact us anytime.