National Temporal Bone Donor Program
If you have any type of ear problem (such as hearing loss, dizziness, facial palsy, infection, tumor or injury), the scientific study of your inner ears could be of great value in the search for the causes and treatments of hearing and balance disorders. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Temporal Bone, Hearing and Balance Pathology Resource Registry is seeking individuals who wish to bequeath their temporal bones to medical research.
The inner ear is inaccessible for study during life because it is encased within the temporal bone of the skull. Only when the temporal bones are removed after death, can the inner ear be studied. By studying temporal bones, researchers have gained new knowledge about hearing, balance and facial nerve problems, such as presbycusis, otosclerosis, benign positional vertigo, Ménière’s disease and many other disorders. Through this research, effective new medical and surgical treatments can be developed.
The Registry is a non-profit organization established in 1992 by The NIDCD of the National Institutes of Health. It continues and expands upon the activities of the former National Temporal Bone Banks program established in 1960 by the Deafness Research Foundation, and is headquartered at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, Massachusetts.
FAQ
What is the temporal bone Registry?
The temporal bone Registry is a non-profit organization which recruits individuals with hearing and balance problems to donate their temporal bones for research after death. The Registry coordinates the procurement of these temporal bones and interacts with temporal bone laboratories in the US to promote and support research of the temporal bone and the related hearing and balance disorders.
What is the purpose of the Registry?
The purpose of the Registry is to promote human temporal bone research by:
- establishing a computerized database of human temporal bone collections,
- proactively responding to inquiries from the public and researchers interested in temporal bone donation or research,
- disseminating information about human temporal bone research, and its importance for otologic practice,
- implementing professional educational activities in the field of human temporal bone and auditory brain stem study,
- conserving otopathologic collections at risk of being lost and, finally,
- developing and maintaining a national donor and acquisition network to increase the yield of human temporal bones for histopathologic research.
What is the temporal bone and where is it located?
The temporal bones form a part of the base of the skull. They are among the hardest of all our bones, enclosing the tiny organs of our hearing and balance systems.
What does the temporal bone have to do with hearing and balance?
The temporal bone houses the delicate organs of hearing and balance. When we refer to the temporal bone, we are including not only the actual bony tissue, but also the middle and inner ear structures.
What is temporal bone Donation For?
In living people, it is not easy to directly examine the ear structures hidden deep inside the temporal bone. Studying donated temporal bones after death is one of the best ways to learn about the causes of ear disorders, and to devise new treatments and cures.
Who will benefit from temporal bone donation?
Many people benefit from temporal bone donation. While the donor is not directly affected by his/her own donation, future generations will benefit from research performed and knowledge gained today. Likewise, today's generation has benefited from temporal bone research performed years ago.
How can donating my temporal bones heelp solve hearing and balance disorders?
By studying donated temporal bones, researchers have gained new knowledge about hearing, balance, and facial nerve problems, and have developed effective new medical and surgical treatments. These are the contributing steps to solving the mysteries of hearing and balance disorders.
Will I benefit from temporal bone donation?
You will not be directly affected by your own donation, but future generations will benefit from research performed and knowledge gained today. Today's generation has benefited, however, from temporal bone research performed years ago.
Why should I donate my temporal bones?
If you have a hereditary earing or balance impairment, then you may be concerned about the hearing of your children's children, and their children. Or you may simply wish to help scientists and clinicians learn more about hearing and balance disorders so that children and adults in future generations may have better treatments for their condition and for restoration of their hearing or balance.
To learn more about temporal bone donation or to request donor application forms, contact the Registry at the address below.
NIDCD National Temporal Bone Registry
Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114-3096
(800) 822-1327
www.tbregistry.org