NFL Players Agree to Donate their Brains to Medicine

There is a growing number of former professional athletes who will donate their brains after death to a Boston University medical school program that studies sports brain injuries.

Three more NFL players joined a growing list of athletes: center Matt Birk of the Baltimore Ravens, linebacker Lofa Tatupu of the Seattle Seahawks and receiver Sean Morey of the Arizona Cardinals. Although they are not the first high profile athletes to do so (more than 150 former athletes, including 40 retired NFL players, already are in the program), they are the first active players which gives the cause some great publicity.

The goal of the university's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy is to better understand the long-term effects of repeated concussions. The program is a collaborative venture between BU Medical School and Sports Legacy Institute.

"When you are active, your contract — what you get paid — is based on the perception of your health, and no player wants to be perceived as being prone to concussions," said Chris Nowinski, the center's co-director. "That's why I am so impressed with these guys. I hope they are the first of many."

"One of the most profound actions I can take personally is to donate my brain to help ensure the safety and welfare of active, retired, and future athletes for decades to come," said Morey, who along with Tatupu has been listed on NFL injury reports in past seasons with injuries described as concussions.

Doctors have been trying to get the word out about the danger of sports-related brain trauma and its long term effects if not treated properly. The problem they are finding is a neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a number of athletes who have recently died; a condition is caused by repetitive trauma to the brain.

The benefits of joining the program, besides the valuable knowledge on brain injury they are sure to gain, is that the players will be interviewed annually for the rest of their lives so researchers can examine the relationship between clinical symptoms and pathology. Through this, they will be able to better treat both those involved in the program and those who suffer similar brain trauma.