So you'd need the living brain of a scientist as brilliant as Einstein.

Not necessary living. And Einstein's brain just happens to be preserved.

In fact, it sounds very much like people quarreled over magical ingridients:

Harvey then removed, weighted and dissected into several pieces Einstein's brain; some of the pieces he kept to himself while others were given to leading pathologists. [....] Harvey also removed Einstein's eyes, and gave them to Henry Abrams.[2] He was fired from his position at Princeton Hospital shortly thereafter for refusing to relinquish the organs.