A BRAIN bank in the North-East is calling on people to pledge to donate their brains after death to help with vital dementia research.

The Brains for Dementia research brain bank, at Newcastle University, is part of a £2m brain bank network.

Last night, former Home Secretary David Blunkett MP and Pat Boyes, the widow of the late Roland Boyes, MP for Washington, who died after developing Alzheimer’s, both said they were pledging their brains.

Scientists said a lack of awareness of the importance of donation was contributing to a nationwide shortage of brains essential for dementia research and major delays in the search for new treatments.

The Brains for Dementia research brain bank is co-ordinated by King’s College London and funded by Alzheimer’s Society and the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.

It is being launched today to provide brains for research that are essential for the development of an eventual cure and treatments for all types of dementia.

However, a survey commissioned for the launch found that only 30 per cent of people in the North-East were aware it was possible to donate their brains after death for research.

This compared to 90 per cent who knew of the option to donate their heart for transplant.

In fewer than 20 years, nearly a million people in the UK will be living with dementia.

Dr Chris Morris, from Newcastle University, said: “Much of what we know about the brain, how it works and the treatments we currently have for dementia come from research on donated brain tissue.”

Mrs Boyes, who lives in Peterlee, County Durham, said, “It is so vital that we support research into dementia to help future generations be rid of this terrible disease.

“I am donating my brain to the brain bank and I am proud that my legacy could help researchers to make the treatment breakthrough we so urgently need. I have visited the brain bank and seen that every one is treated with great respect by the scientists and is enormously valuable in the fight against dementia.”

People over 65 who are interested in contributing to dementia research by donating their brain can visit brainsfordementiaresearch.org.uk