How does the brain bank acquire tissue samples from individuals with autism?
With disorders that are not going to result in someone dying, such as autism, fewer people pre-register with us. Doctors hear about us, they take our brochure, put it in their medical files, and if one of these patients dies, then they call us and we swing into action. We get copies of consent forms to the family, then we find a pathologist in the local area to do the recovery. That all has to be done within 24 hours [within the death]. So we really have to kick into action very quickly. Sometimes we end up having to pay, too. Last year, for whatever reason, we ended up getting five cases. It used to be that we would get one or two cases per year. How much do you have to pay? Somewhere between $500 and $1,200 per case. There was one case in a state with a low population. They had two forensic pathologists. One was on vacation, the other was retiring the next day, and they lived in opposite parts of the state. So we actually had to fly the body from one side of the state to the other, s
