Paul Green’s family donate his brain to science to assist with CTE research

The family of Paul Green have revealed details of an incredible donation that will form part of the rugby league legend’s legacy a week after he died.

Paul Green’s family have donated his brain to science.

The family made a post on the The Australian Sports Brain Bank website.

The brain bank researches the concussion related condition of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

“In memory of our beloved Paul, we ask that you support the pioneering work of the Australian Sports Brain Bank.

“Paul was known for always looking out for others. We are proud that part of his legacy will be looking out for the brain health of all others involved in the game that he loved.”

The note is signed off by his wife Amanda and children Emerson and Jed.

The family have a goal to raise $150,000 for research.

Green’s wife Amanda said as someone who was dedicated to helping others, he would support the family’s decision to play an integral part in advancing research into this aspect of the game that was such a large part of his life.

“He had a wonderful and enquiring mind, and he never backed away from asking the hard questions. We hope this donation will help us understand more about brain health and mental health and save lives in the future,” Amanda said.

Paul’s sister Lisa Miller added: “Paul was known for always looking out for others. We are proud that part of his legacy will be looking out for the brain health of others - past, present and future - involved in the game that he loved.”

Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the ASBB, Michael Buckland, praised the family for the difficult decision and said the donation will play an important role in the research being undertaken into brain injury.

“This is an incredibly generous donation and will be an invaluable part of our research into the long-term effects of repetitive head impacts in sport and elsewhere,” Buckland said.

“We at the Australian Sports Brain Bank are blown away by the fact that in their time of grief, Amanda and the rest of the family thought of how they could help others.”

Green was celebrating his young son’s birthday party just 24 hours before the sudden death of the premiership-winning Cowboys coach that rocked the NRL fraternity last week.

Less than 24 hours after Jed’s birthday bash, Ms Green went to the gym for pilates and returned home to find her husband unconscious, prompt­ing an urgent triple-0 call.

Paramedics were unable to revive Green.

Green, who was turning 50 next month, died at his Brisbane home. It has been confirmed that he took his life.

Green’s funeral is expected to be held as early as August 30th at Kougari Oval where the league icon played with and coached the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls to premiership glory.

The ceremony is expected to be livestreamed and beamed on a big screen to a packed crowd, including some of the biggest names in sport, business and politics.“It will be a celebration of the awesome life Paul lived and the wonderful things he did for people – that’s certainly what we’re focused on,” Green’s brother Rick said.

Asked how the family was holding up, Rick said: “Everyone is feeling overwhelmed.”

“There’s certainly a lot of stories that we’re sharing about our times with Paul but as we reflect on those good times, there’s a great sadness at his passing,” he said.

“It’s still very raw and difficult to process.”

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE FUND SET UP IN GREEN’S MEMORY