“My grandad died after his dementia became so severe that he didn’t know who he was. It feels right to do this in his honour.”
An inspirational cancer patient has donated part of his brain to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.
Aidan McAllister, 28, underwent the ground-breaking operation as a live donor in a world-first dementia experiment carried out at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh in January.
The healthcare worker, from Fife, was given undergoing treatment for a terminal Grade 4 Astrocytoma brain tumour when he agreed to allow medics to extract samples of his brain tissue in the hope his donation could help people suffering from crippling neurological diseases.
It comes after scientists discovered they can learn more about Alzheimer’s by keeping living human brain tissue – removed during routine neurosurgery – alive for study in the laboratory.
Speaking to the Record, Aidan said: “Being diagnosed with terminal cancer is terrifying and it takes time to sink in.
“I had to accept that getting married and having children are milestones that will never happen for me.
“So when doctors told me I could donate part of my brain to help other people, the answer I gave was the quickest yes.
“I had a chance to could change someone’s life, even is mine is being cut short.
“This will be my legacy.”
By donating his brain tissue, Aidan is also honouring the memory of his grandad Thomas McAllister, who died from Vascular dementia in July 2020 at the age of 86.
Aidan told the Record: “I was really close with my grandad and his dementia became so severe that he didn’t know who he was or who members of his family were.
“But the disease didn’t just steal his memory.
“He had been a really fit and healthy man who played football, cycled and spent a lot of time in his garden.
“Then, towards the end of his life, he lost his mobility and his appetite.
“I ended up being his chaperone and even had to hoist him into bed and help him shower and dress.
“It’s a brutal disease that really changes a person. You lose them long before they die and the family are left to pick up the pieces.
“So if donating part of my brain can help people like my grandad, then that’s another reason I would have wanted to do this.
“It feels right to have done it in his honour.”
Aidan was given his devastating cancer diagnosis in November 2024 after suffer a series of seizures.
An MRI revealed a low grade tumour which grew to Stage 4 fatal disease within months.
Tragically, Aidan was given just two to five years to live.
He explained that while he has come to terms with his own illness, losing his mum to cancer four years ago also played a huge part in his decision to take part in the pioneering research.
He continued: “My mum was 51 when she died.
“She donated some of her tissue for research in the US before she passed away and now I am going through a similar process to what she did.
“I know that my cancer is going to ruin my life and that it is a ticking time bomb.
“So it’s hard to put into words how satisfying it feels to be helping others at this time.
“Now I’m now considering donating my body to medical science.”
Pioneering research has enabled scientists studying Alzheimer’s to learn, for the first time, how a toxic form of a protein linked to disease can attach to and damage the connections between brain cells.
The team who operated on Aidan hope his donation will help identify medications with the greatest potential to prevent the loss of synapses—the vital connections that allow messages to flow between brain cells and support healthy brain function.
Neurosurgeon Paul Brennan said: “Research of this type has been underway for some time, but this collaboration allows us to study living human brain tissue in a way that hasn’t routinely been possible before.”
Race Against Dementia Fellow Dr Claire Durrant added: “We believe this research could accelerate the journey from lab findings to patient treatments, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the heartbreak of dementia.”
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