Brain Donation and Banking in Africa: Curent Evidance, Challenges, and Future Directions

Background: Brain donation and banking play a crucial role in advancing neuroscience and neurosurgery research, especially in understanding neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. Despite the global significance of brain banking, Africa's participation in these efforts remains limited. This review aims to explore the current state of brain banking in Africa, identify the major barriers to its development, and propose future directions for enhancing brain donation initiatives across the continent. Methods: This review examined existing brain banks in Africa, synthesizing data on existing literature on ethical and legal challenges, scientific and research gaps, and the sociocultural factors influencing brain donation. Specific examples of brain banking initiatives, such as the South African Brain Bank, Ibadan Brain Bank, and H3Africa Biorepositories, were analyzed to compare their operations and impact. Results: Current evidence highlights a few existing brain banking initiatives in Africa, which face significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, public awareness and education, limited funding, sociocultural barriers, notable gap in neuropathological expertise and interdisciplinary collaboration. Ethical concerns surrounding postmortem tissue collection and informed consent are prevalent. Conclusion: To bridge the existing gaps in brain donation and banking in Africa, it is imperative to prioritize the establishment of local brain banks, enhance public awareness through medical education and media campaigns, promote international and interdisciplinary collaboration, increase neuropathological expertise and develop comprehensive policies governing brain banking practices. Successful implementation of these strategies will enhance brain banking efforts in Africa and its contribution to global neuroscience research while improving the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders.