Expressing support for the designation of May 7 each year as "Brain Donation Awareness Day".

Brain Donation Awareness Day Whereas hundreds of millions of Americans are currently living with disabling and debilitating brain disorders; Whereas an additional 1,200,000 people aged 18 years and older are diagnosed annually with adult onset brain disease or disorders in the United States; Whereas neurological conditions impact Americans of all ages, but the risk of neurodegenerative diseases increases dramatically with age; Whereas the number of older Americans is growing rapidly, and more people will be affected by neurodegenerative diseases in coming decades; Whereas brain disease has a tremendous impact on individuals, families, and society; Whereas there is a critical need to improve the understanding of what causes neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders, to develop new approaches for prevention and treatment; Whereas, in 2022, 6,500,000 Americans were estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s disease; Whereas an estimated 1,200,000 people in the United States could be living with Parkinson’s disease by 2030; Whereas about 1 in 6 children in the United States has 1 or more developmental disabilities or other developmental delays; Whereas serious mental illness is rising, with over 58,000,000 Americans experiencing a mental illness in 2021; Whereas 46,300,000 people aged 12 or older in the United States reported having substance use disorder in 2021; Whereas the underlying causes of most neurological conditions remain largely unknown due to the vast complexity of the human brain; Whereas through research, the underlying causes of a greater number of neurological conditions can be understood; Whereas the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) support research on new ways to treat, cure, and prevent neurological conditions; Whereas the Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the FDA testified before Congress in 2021 that the field of neuroscience requires more research to develop new, safe, and effective treatments; Whereas the NIH and institutes within the NIH launched the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative in 2013 and continue to partner with a number of Federal agencies and private sector partners on the BRAIN Initiative; Whereas the NIH-funded NeuroBioBank was established in September 2013 as a national resource for investigators utilizing human post mortem brain tissue and related biospecimens for their research to understand conditions of the nervous system; Whereas post mortem brain tissue is an irreplaceable resource in brain research; Whereas there is a critical need to increase the availability of human diseased and control brains and related biospecimens; Whereas one brain can provide tissue for dozens, even hundreds, of neurological studies; Whereas communities of color and poverty are underrepresented and understudied in neurological research; Whereas through awareness, the public can be educated on how brain donation for neuroscience research is not a routine part of organ donation or anatomical body donation; Whereas racial and ethnic minorities account for nearly 40 percent of the United States population and their rates of inclusion in clinical trials range from 2 to 16 percent; Whereas disparities in health status are associated with differences in socioeconomic status, whether measured by income, educational achievement, or occupation; Whereas minority and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by neurological conditions; Whereas only 4 percent of all neurological disorder research contained in the genome-wide association studies database of the National Human Genome Research Institute includes minority participants; Whereas racial and socioeconomic diversity is paramount among brain donors so that research can investigate how and why neurological diseases and disorders disproportionately affect minority and low-income communities; Whereas the Brain Donor Project and the American Brain Coalition sponsor Brain Donation Awareness Day Whereas Brain Donation Awareness Day That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the designation of Brain Donation Awareness Day (2) recognizes the importance of, with respect to neurological conditions and disorders— (A) improving awareness; (B) research; (C) supporting national efforts to develop effective treatments, diagnostics, and cures; (D) supporting national efforts to address the urgent need for post mortem brain tissue, both control and diseased; and (E) educating on the importance of brain donation to support national research efforts.

Summary: This resolution supports the designation of Brain Donation Awareness Day to raise awareness of postmortem brain donation and its importance in scientific research on neurological conditions.