ICF: UK Brain BioLink (UK Brain Biology Resource Link)

NHS patients and long-term study volunteers will be able to directly donate their brain tissue for research and track exactly how it is used, through a new national linking system called Brain BioLink. Currently, brain tissue samples are scattered across different biobanks and research groups, making it difficult for scientists to share them or combine data. Patients and participants also have little way to understand what donating tissue involves, or to stay informed about how their contribution is being used. Brain BioLink addresses this by creating a single, coordinated resource that connects donors, clinicians, and researchers. It will test new methods for analysing tissue samples, both for diagnostics and for quality control, ensuring samples are not wasted. If successful, Brain BioLink will make UK neuroscience research more efficient and transparent. Scientists will be able to pool samples and avoid duplicating efforts, accelerating studies into conditions such as dementia, stroke, and motor neurone disease. For donors, the system offers clarity and choice. The project is primarily about building infrastructure—a quieter but essential part of medical research—rather than making immediate discoveries. But without such a resource, valuable tissue samples will continue to be underused, slowing progress across the entire field.