These practices came under public scrutiny when Elaine Isaacs penetrated a veil of secrecy “nothing short of collusion” surrounding the suicide of her husband Cyril. She found years after his 1987 funeral that his brain had been removed. This is something of a no-no among those of the Jewish faith, which requires that a person be buried intact. Cyril wasn’t.
“I can assure them and other families that, since the time of the activities described in this report, the practice of routine retention and use of organs and tissue without consent is no longer acceptable practice,” in the National Health Service, chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said in a NHS press release. Despite this scandal, the need for brain donation remains a truly valid one for research into Alzheimer’s disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, among many others. Won’t you (WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTO) donate yours?