Neil Lumsden has signed his organ donor card for decades, so the decision to do his part for concussion research was a no-brainer. Lumsden, Ontario's Minister of Sport, and native of London announced Wednesday he will donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada (CLFC) to assist with research on brain injuries. Lumsden made the declaration on the football field at Varsity Stadium, appropriate given Lumsden's long and decorated career in the sport.
"I'm privileged to have had a long career playing a high-collision sport and I'm fortunate to have not experienced the negative, long-term affects of concussions," Lumsden said. "But many of my teammates and others I've played with and against haven't been so lucky. "Why have I been immuned? There's got to be a reason, I want to know what that reason is and more importantly I want the research to find out when the time comes to make things better and safer for those that come (after) me.
Both of my kids (son Jesse, daughter Kristine) were involved in sport, contact on all fronts and I want it better for their kids and everyone's kids and grandkids." Brain donations are important for gaining insight into the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease linked to repetitive head trauma. Lumsden's ministry is also providing up to $52,500 in funding to CLFC, which is partnering with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on a research project on traumatic .