Contact Research For Life

365 Days a Year – 24 Hours a Day

Research For Life understands that whole body donation is a significant and extremely personal decision. It’s not right for every person or family. But many families find solace in knowing that in their grief their loved one is helping humanity through the gift of whole body donation.  Our professional and compassionate staff is available to make sure that you get all the answers to the questions you have, just ask them.

Locations

Phoenix, Arizona Office
2230 East Magnolia Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Phone: 480.940.1310

Fax: 480.471.5177

Temecula, California Office
41743 Enterprise Circle N., Suite 104
Temecula, CA 92590

Phone: 951.719.3334

Fax: 951.823.5480

How Can We Help?

Have questions or comments? Fill out the form below to send us an email or feel free to give us a call at 800.229.3244.

Public Tour

Exciting news for all Arizona residents - public tours are officially back! With our ongoing commitment to our community to remain as transparent as possible about our program, we are excited to announce the dates for 2023 public tours:

  • Saturday January 28th, 2023
  • Saturday February 25th, 2023
  • Saturday May 20th, 2023
  • Saturday August 26th, 2023
  • Saturday November 4th, 2023

All tours are scheduled to start at 11AM MST.

We hope to see you there and are ready to answer any questions you may have about our program, processes, or facility!


Video Content: Quarterly public tour hosted by Garland Shreves, CEO, Research For Life

Need to Report a Death

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Research For Life is here.

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Research For Life's Donor Program

Our commitment to honoring & respecting
your wish to make a difference.

Click to Learn More

Register to Be a Donor

Whole body donation saves lives.
You can benefit humanity.

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Research For Life - Understanding Whole Body Donor Consent

Hello, my name is Garland Shreves, CEO of Research For Life. I want to take a moment to discuss some very basic information with you regarding consent forms, in general, that you may encounter when considering to donate to a whole body donor organization.

First and foremost, you need to understand and read the consent form, also known as the authorization form or document of gift, so you know what you are consenting to.  Ask questions of the organization if you don’t understand something. 

 All states require, under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, that consent be granted by an authorized agent of the donor or self-authorization before death.

Each state defines who in the consenting class has the most authority to direct donation. Such as the medical power of attorney, spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, etc. and differs slightly in each state. 

Consent may be given by means of a verbal recorded consent or by a written document of gift.

Research For Life uses a written consent form which can be found on our website.

Understand that the donor or authorizing agent is giving the body to an organization. Once given it belongs to the organization to use in accordance with the consent form.

In other words, the donor organization is free to use the donor provided it does so within the terms

of the consent, it may not use the donor in a manner not consented too.  

The consent may state how the body may be used.  Educational and/or research purposes or some other purpose may be stated or in the discretion of the donor organization.

Research For Life provides cadavers and/or anatomical specimens for education and research purposes and does not do ballistic testing.

The consent may state that the body will be used in whole or in parts. It may also state that the anatomical parts may be used domestically and or internationally.

And most consents will cover some basic things like consent to test the donor for diseases and order medical records to help best determine the medical suitability for the donation.

The consent may also touch on issues like for profit or nonprofit status and if the donor or anatomical specimens will be used by one or more or both types of entities.  Remember that regardless of an organizations tax status they all charge fees to end users who order anatomical specimens and offer those specimens to both for profit and nonprofit entities.

From the very start of the donation process costs to the donor organization begin. 24-hour answering service, transport team to respond 24/7, qualified trained staff paid a livable wage with benefits and retirement, electric, gas, phone, insurances, building payments, maintenance, medical director, and regulatory requirements, and cremation fees. And these are just some of the expenses that an organization may have to cover.

Another item you may see on most authorization forms is a release of liability, a hold harmless agreement, excluding misconduct of course.  

Research For Life states clearly it will not and donor or agent agrees that Research For Life will not be held responsible for acts of third parties in connection with the donation.

Another item that reduces a donor organizations liability is the Anatomical Gift Act prohibits criminal, civil or administrative actions provided there is no intentional misconduct on the part of the donor organization. In other words, if the donor organization acted in good faith it is immune and provided some protection from lawsuits.

Another important part on a consent form is the person signing the authorization attests (affirms) that they have the authority to direct the donation. The donor organization accepts the authorizing agent’s authority in good faith barring any information known to it at the time of donation that would contradict the authority of the person authorizing donation.    

Remember, should you decide to register, tell your family and friends about your decision.

Also, the donation authorization form is not valid until notarized or signed by two witnesses; one witness must be non-family or disinterested party. 

Consent forms contain other important information that you need to read and understand.

All documents of gift or authorizations can be cancelled prior to death.

I want to thank you for taking the time to watch this video and I hope it helped provide you with some basic information regarding whole body donation consent forms.  Thank you.