A: By planning in advance, you can eliminate any confusion about your wishes.
Simply call 800.417.3747 or print and mail the Science Care Donor Registration Packet to:
PO Box 87119,
Phoenix, AZ 85080-9843.

You will receive personalized ID cards in the mail, and we ask that you inform your family or those responsible for your arrangements about your wish to donate.

Click here to download Science Care Donor Registration Packet

A: At the time of passing, all that is necessary is a phone call to Science Care, 800.417.3747. A trained, compassionate Family Services professional will assist next of kin through the donation process, which includes answering a medical and social history questionnaire to determine acceptance, coordinate transportation, signing any necessary authorization forms, and verifying information for the death certificate. Click here for a typical donation timeline.

Science Care accepts both pre-registered donors, as well as registration at the time of passing by the legal next of kin. The final, legal decision to donate will be the responsibility of your legal next of kin, in accordance with the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

A: Almost everyone can donate regardless of age, location or health. Most illnesses and past surgeries are accepted, including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, stroke and diabetes. Organ transplant donors are eligible to donate.

Rule outs for donation include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B & C, active tuberculosis or syphilis. Other considerations include severe obesity, decomposition, trauma or extensive orthopedic surgeries.

Science Care can accept donations from every state in the U.S. except Minnesota and New Jersey. Donations from outside the United States are currently unable to be accepted.

Donors are screened to ensure safety and suitability of the donation for medical research and training.

A: Upon acceptance, Science Care pays all costs associated with donation: transportation from the place of passing, filing of the death certificate, cremation, and return of the cremated remains (if requested) within 3-5 weeks.

To order certified death certificates, please visit VitalChek.

A: The closest relatives, as defined by state law, of a deceased person. Most states recognize the spouse and the nearest blood relatives as next of kin. Contact Science Care at 800.417.3747 if you have any questions about determining the legal next of kin.

We strongly advise that you discuss your wishes with your legal next of kin, as they will be required by Science Care policy to be involved in the donation process once death occurs.

A: Whole body donation would prohibit a traditional open casket funeral. However, many families choose to have a memorial service prior to or after receiving the cremated remains.

A: Science Care will make every reasonable effort to accept a donation from anywhere in the United States. We work with professional transport services and licensed funeral homes to transport the donor to Science Care.

Science Care can currently accept donations from every state in the U.S. except Minnesota and New Jersey. Donations from outside the United States are currently unable to be accepted.

A: It may be surprising to some to learn that with only a few exceptions all of the major religions affirm and celebrate organ and tissue donation. Click here for a list of what major religions say about organ and tissue donation.

A: Science Care’s program contributes to new breakthroughs and developments in medicine, including advanced physician training, neurological research and the latest prescription drug therapies. The organizations using donated tissue include universities, government agencies, corporate or private medical institutions.

Click here to see a few of the areas in which Science Care has made a contribution to medical research and training.

A: Science Care will make every reasonable effort to place tissue with the appropriate research institutions to be used in the specific research requested; however, no guarantees can be made as to the results that may be obtained.

A: Science Care is a fee-based service organization. Science Care adheres to all federal and state legal requirements through the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which prohibits the buying and selling of human organs and tissue.

Science Care charges reasonable fees for services provided to the medical research and educational community for the removal, processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage and transportation of human tissue.

A: Science Care warrants and represents that it protects the confidentiality of its donors in accordance with Title 45, Part 46 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. Science Care identifies each donor by an internal identification number, which is used in all communications with researchers, thereby protecting the confidentiality of donors and end-users. The system ensures that tissue is tracked for safety regulations, while at the same time protecting the identity of donor.

A: Science Care is incorporated as a taxable organization that is required to pay federal and state income taxes. Science Care provides services directly related to the cost of donation at no cost to donor families, is not organized to accept tax deductible monetary contributions and is not dependent on government grants. The research and education organizations, to which Science Care provides donor tissue, consist of both non profit and for profit entities.

A: Science Care is the first whole body donor program to be accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). Accreditation follows an intensive nine-month process, and establishes that the level of medical, technical and administrative performance meets or exceeds the standards set by the AATB.

AATB-accredited organizations are recognized as the leaders in their field and as pivotal voices in the dialogue through which consensus-based, voluntary standards are developed and implemented.