Research on fetal brain tissue holds immense significance for
neuroscience and disease mechanisms, as its developmental processes form the
cornerstone for understanding brain development and its abnormalities. The
formulation of a standardized operational protocol for China's fetal brain
tissue bank is urgently needed, as it can fill the gaps in the domestic
relevant standardized system, support basic research and clinical exploration,
and assist in addressing challenges related to ethics and sample quality. The
establishment of this protocol aims to ensure operational consistency, minimize
experimental deviations, provide reliable samples for disease research, and
enhance international competitiveness. By integrating the practical experience
of multiple domestic brain banks, this standardized operational protocol
summarizes the objectives of fetal brain tissue bank collection, proposes the
legal basis and ethical considerations for fetal collection, outlines the
content of clinical data collection and the procedures for fetal brain tissue
sampling, briefly describes pathological diagnosis norms, and details the
preservation and management of information related to fetal brain tissue.
Additionally, it innovatively introduces postmortem fetal brain magnetic resonance
imaging (ex vivo MRI) technology. The protocol aims to establish unified and
standardized criteria, strengthen the collection, processing, and sharing of
samples, and promote the advancement of brain science research.