An Arizona man has spoken out about the heartbreak he endured when learning that the body of his mother, which he donated to a medical research center, was sold off to the military and blown up in a 'blast testing' experiment.

Doris Stauffer, 73, died five-years ago in hospice care following a several year battle with Alzheimer's, despite doctors saying she didn't carry the gene for the disease.

Medical officials feared the condition may have mutated and hoped to study her brain after her death to further investigate.

However, when she died in 2014, her neurologist was unable to accept her remains so her son, Jim, reached out to a number of donation facilities who he hoped would continue the investigation.

Finally, he settled on the Biological Resource Center (BRC) in Maricopa County following a recommendation from a nurse, under the agreement that the company - led by Stephen Gore - would send her brain to a neurological research group.