What kind of company is Bexorg?

Bexorg is a small biomedical research company that was created to investigate practical medical applications of a technology first invented in a Yale University neurology research laboratory. That technology involved using a machine to pump artificial blood through research brains, to keep their cells functioning at a level that permits research on brain-disease treatments. A "research brain" is a whole brain that has been removed, after death, from an animal or a human being, to be used in research. Research brains have working cells but are incapable of regaining consciousness or awareness. In the original Yale experiments, the research brains were removed from dead pigs, taken from a local slaughterhouse. Today, Bexorg's research brains come from deceased human donors.

How does Bexorg use research brains?

Bexorg's technology is a combination of three very different kinds of innovation. First, there is a machine that can pump a blood-like liquid into a research brain, supplying it with oxygen and nutrition. The liquid can accept waste from research brain cells and the machine can dispose of it in the way that kidneys and livers normally do for living animals. The machine can measure liquids coming into and out of a research brain with sufficient precision that it can automatically adjust the amounts of new oxygen and nutrition needed to maintain the key cellular functions that are important to research. Second, there is a newly-developed surgical technique by which the blood-vessels that feed the research brain can be connected to the machine. The surgery allows all the cells to be supported by the artificial blood, but cuts off the blood vessels that are used to support other parts of the head (like the scalp or the jaw muscles). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the artificial blood itself—called a "perfusate"—which carries oxygen and glucose to research brain cells, and which carries away cellular waste. Sophisticated computer software keeps track of everything that goes in and out of the research brains, gathering ever more data about how the cells work and how they respond to different potential therapies.

Where does Bexorg get its research brains?

Bexorg's research brains are the post-mortem gifts of generous organ donors who have (or whose families have) authorized their bodily tissues, including brains, to be used in research. Just signing up to be an organ donor is not enough to allow Bexorg to do research on your brain; more specific authorization is legally required. Bexorg's donors specifically authorize research using their brain tissue because they wish to support brain research. Importantly, donation of a research brain never interferes with donation of any life-saving organs for transplantation. When a donor is declared dead, and authorization for the research use of their brain has been verified, surgeons carefully remove the donor's brain and some of the blood-vessels that are attached to it. After the surgery, the research brain is intact but is no longer connected in any way to the body or to any nerves or sensory organs. The brain removal is done from the back of the head, so that the donor's appearance is not affected for purposes of funerial viewings. The isolated research brain is then transported to Bexorg's lab in New Haven, CT, and attached surgically to a perfusion machine so that research can begin. Research brain perfusion can never bring the research brain back to consciousness.

What is done with the research brains during perfusion?

Currently, perfused research brains are used in different ways for different kinds of research. A research brain from a donor who dies with Parkinson's Disease, for example, might be used to test a possible new Parkinson's drug. Or a healthy research brain might be injected with a special kind of dye, so that the structure of the research brain's neural highways can be mapped for comparison to the structures of diseased research brains. Or scientists might try to edit certain genes in the cells of the research brain, to measure the possible effects on slowing or reversing brain disease. The research brain is carefully observed throughout its time on the perfusion machine—usually no more than 24 hours. The contents of all fluids entering and leaving the research brain are tracked in real time, so researchers can see exactly how active the research-brain cells are, how well they are absorbing drugs, and how they are changing in response to interventions.

What happens to the research brains after the research is completed?

Bexorg handles all research brains with sensitivity, and strictly in accord with legal and ethical requirements. Bexorg appreciates the generosity of its donors and could not do its work without them. When research on a given research brain is completed, it is surgically disconnected from the perfusion machinery. Some or all of the research brain tissue might then be stored in Bexorg's tissue bank for possible use in future research; or portions of the research brain might be examined closely under a microscope to evaluate its structure or the effects of brain-disease interventions. Any remaining parts of the research brain that cannot be used for future research are carefully disposed of in a respectful manner, in accordance with regulations governing the disposition of human tissue, and using the highest ethical standards.

Do the research brains "wake up"?

Some people who are considering donating research brains to Bexorg worry that the research brain might "feel something" or "wake up" while connected to the perfusion machine. This does not, and cannot, happen. The cells in Bexorg research brains never exhibit any of the electrical activity necessary for thought or physical sensation. This is because research brain cells do not get anywhere near enough energy from the perfusate to allow them to fire as they do in normal brains. Many hundreds of closely monitored experiments with pig and human research brains have confirmed this. Even knowing this, however, some potential donors and their families are still uneasy; solely to give them an extra level of certainty, Bexorg includes enough anesthesia in its perfusate to prevent consciousness in an ordinary brain.

Are there financial consequences for people who donate research brains?

No. The donation of a research brain is purely an altruistic gift, with no financial risks or benefits. Donors and their families are not required to share in the costs or financial risks of doing research, and will not receive any financial benefits if researchers discover treatments for brain disease or other commercially useful information. All publications based on Bexorg research will be available to donors' families on this site, so that they can learn how their research-brain donation has contributed to brain-disease treatment and to brain science more broadly.