The Australian Veterans Brain Bank AVBB
The Australian Veterans Brain Bank was officially launched in 2023 and is a tissue bank that is dedicated to research on disorders of the brain in Australian Defence Force Veterans. We hope that people both with and without a known traumatic brain injury (TBI) or suspected brain disorder will pledge their brain to support research on neurologic conditions affecting Australian Veterans.
Damien Thomlinson
AVBB Ambassador
Damien Thomlinson is an Australian veteran of the war in Afghanistan. In 2009, whilst on night patrol in Southern Afghanistan with the 2nd Commando Regiment, Damien’s unit drove over an improvised Taliban bomb. Damien suffered severe blast injuries in the explosion, which resulted in both of his legs being amputated. With a great deal of commitment and hard work he taught himself to walk again with state-of-the-art prosthetic legs.
The Australian Veterans Brain Bank is honoured to have Damien as our official ambassador. We benefit from his lived experience of physical and mental rehabilitation, his passion to help other veterans, and his unwavering spirit. For more information about Damien, please visit his website here.
1810 push ups for Veterans' mental health
The AVBB has been supported by the fantastic fundraising efforts of Keshia Westdrop, an army veteran from QLD with ten years’ service.
Having being exposed to heavy weapon blast overpressure during her career, supporting research on disorders of the brain in Australian Defence Force Veterans is something Keshia is incredibly passionate about. To raise awareness for veteran mental health and to raise funds for our research, on ANZAC Day 2024 Keshia performed an incredible 1810 push ups - one for every veteran suicide from 1997- 2023.
You can still visit her page here for more details or to donate - all proceeds go directly to the Australian Veterans Brain Bank research at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA).
We are incredibly grateful for Keshia’s energetic support of the AVBB and for her service to our country.
