Concussion victim willing to donate brain to scientific research

Seven concussions in 18 months ended Shaun Valentine’s rugby league playing career, and the lingering effects concerned him so much he decided to donate his brain to a man he’s never met and rarely spoken to.

He understands that he’ll die without knowing the full impact of those concussions, but hopes his decision will help future generations of athletes.

Valentine will get to see Chris Nowinski for the first time later this month, on the sidelines of a meeting that the American concussion expert is having with officials and players from the Australian Football League in Melbourne November 18-19.

Nowinski, a Harvard graduate and former wrestler, is a co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University, otherwise known as the “Brain Bank.” It is one of the leading research groups in the world on the effects concussions are having on athletes, highlighted by recent cases in the US involving retired players from the National Football League.

Valentine, one of nearly 200 athletes who have committed to donating their brains to the Boston researchers for post-mortem investigations, has noticed how concussions have taken a toll on him.

Only 37, Valentine’s short-term memory is terrible. Each night, he puts his keys and wallet in the same place in his home in Townsville on Australia’s tropical north coast. And each morning, he needs help trying to find them.