Paul Green's family will donate the late rugby league coach's brain to assist research into repetitive head injuries and concussion.
The former champion playmaker and NRL premiership-winning coach died at his Brisbane home last Thursday and will be farewelled at a service on August 30 at Wynnum's Kougari Oval.
Wife Amanda Green and two children Jed and Emerson hope the donation to The Australian Sports Brain Bank (ASBB) will benefit research into one of modern sport's burning issues.
"He had a wonderful and enquiring mind, and he never backed away from asking the hard questions," Mrs Green said.
"We hope this donation will help us understand more about brain health and mental health and save lives in the future."
The ASBB, a partnership between Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the University of Sydney and the Concussion Legacy Foundation, was formed to understand chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other brain pathology associated with repetitive head injury in sport and elsewhere.
ASBB director and associate professor Michael Buckland said the donation would be an invaluable part of their research.
"This is an incredibly generous donation ... 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," he said.
The Green family will also ask friends and family attending the funeral to donate to the ASBB in lieu of flowers.
Donations can be made at https://www.brainbank.org.au/.
