Standardized operational protocol for the fetal brain tissue bank in China

Fetal brain tissue is an irreplaceable resource for understanding human neurodevelopment, yet China has lacked a dedicated standardized framework for its collection, processing, and banking. While the “Standardized Operational Protocol for the China Human Brain Bank Consortium” has guided adult brain banking, the unique developmental characteristics of fetal brain tissue—including distinct patterns of neurogenesis, cell migration, and synaptogenesis—demand a separate, specialized protocol.

To address this critical gap, Keqing Zhu and colleagues, drawing on practical experience from multiple domestic brain banks, have developed and published the first comprehensive SOP for fetal brain tissue banking in China. The protocol defines six core domains: collection objectives and strategies; legal and ethical foundations (grounded in China’s Civil Code, Biosafety Law, and Human Genetic Resources Regulations); clinical data acquisition standards; detailed fetal brain sampling procedures; pathological diagnostic criteria; and principles for sample application, information management, and open sharing. Notably, the SOP incorporates post-mortem fetal brain ex vivo MRI as an optional supplementary evaluation tool and specifies gestational age–dependent handling procedures for left hemisphere fresh freezing and right hemisphere formalin fixation.

The establishment of this SOP represents a major advancement for China’s neuroscience community, ensuring high-integrity fetal brain samples and enabling reproducible, cross‑institutional research into the earlypathogenesis of congenital neurological disorders.This work, entitled “Standardized Operational Protocol for the Fetal Brain Tissue Bank in China” was published onHuman Brain(published on Apr. 1, 2026).