Register to Be a Donor
Research For Life currently pre-registers donors in Arizona and Southern California.
If a death has occurred or is imminent pre-registration is not required, please call 800.229.3244.
Click here to download the Arizona Donor Self Registration Packet
Arizona Donor Self Registration Packet Instructions
Donor Prequalification Form:
- Please complete, sign, and date. This form will be used to determine qualification.
Donation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Donation Authorization Form.
- Please complete with your address, sign, date, and designate “self” in the Relationship to Donor box.
- Please have 2 witnesses sign and date for verification or have a notary notarize your signature.
(ONE OF THE WITNESSES NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
Cremation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Cremation Authorization Form.
- Please complete with your address, sign, date, and designate “self” in the Relationship to Donor box.
- Please have 1 witness sign and date for verification or have a notary notarize your signature.
Arizona Donor Registration Form:
- There is important information included on this form.
- Please read and complete both pages, sign, and date on the 2nd page in the Person Authorizing Donation box.
- Please ensure the 2nd page is signed by you, the named donor. This is a self-authorization. All authorizing signatures must be the donors.
- As of September 2014, Arizona State Vital Registrar requires a form completed after the death occurs (Death Registration Worksheet) for the death certificate filing process. It is required that this form have the next of kin’s or representative’s signature, approving the information for the worksheet. Research for Life will work with you to facilitate the completion of this form.
Click here to download the Arizona Donor Next of Kin Registration Packet
Arizona Donor Next of Kin Registration Packet Instructions
Donor Prequalification Form:
- Please complete, sign, and date. This form will be used to determine qualification.
Donation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Donation Authorization Form.
- Please complete the boxes with your information, sign, date, and designate your relationship to the donor.
- Please have 2 witnesses sign and date for verification or have a notary notarize your signature.
(ONE OF THE WITNESSES NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
Cremation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Cremation Authorization Form.
- Please complete the boxes with your information, sign, date, and designate your relationship to the donor.
- Please have 1 witness sign and date for verification.
(THE WITNESS NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
Arizona Donor Registration Form:
- There is important information included on this form.
- Please read than complete both pages with the donor’s information.
- Please sign, and date on the 2nd page in the Person Authorizing Donation box.
- The person who is authorizing the donation is the person who should sign this form.
- As of September 2014, Arizona State Vital Registrar requires a form completed after the death occurs (Death Registration Worksheet) for the death certificate filing process. It is required that this form have the next of kin’s or representative’s signature, approving the information for the worksheet. Research for Life will work with you to facilitate the completion of this form.
Click here to download the California Donor Self Registration Packet
California Donor Self Registration Packet Instructions
Donation Prequalification Form:
- Please complete, sign, and date. This form will be used to determine qualification.
- Please write the DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Donation Authorization Form.
- Please complete with your address, sign, date, and designate “self” in the Relationship to Donor box, and
- Please have 2 witnesses sign and date for verification or have a notary notarize your signature.
(ONE OF THE WITNESSES NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
Cremation Authorization Form:
-
- Please write the DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Cremation Authorization Form.
- Please complete with your address, sign, date, and designate “self” in the Relationship to Donor box.
- Please have 1 witness sign and date for verification.
(THE WITNESS NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
California Donor Registration Form:
- There is important information included on this form.
- Please read and complete both pages, sign, and date on the 2nd page in the Person Authorizing Donation box.
- Please ensure the 2nd page is signed by you, the named donor. This is a self-authorization. All authorizing signatures must be the donors.
Click here to download the California Donor Next of Kin Registration Packet
California Donor Next of Kin Registration Packet Instructions
Donor Prequalification Form:
- Please complete, sign, and date. This form will be used to determine qualification.
Donation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Donation Authorization Form.
- Please complete the boxes with your information, sign, date, and designate your relationship to the donor.
- Please have 2 witnesses sign and date for verification or have a notary notarize your signature.
(ONE OF THE WITNESSES NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
Cremation Authorization Form:
- Please write DONOR’S NAME AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE directly under the title Cremation Authorization Form.
- Please complete the boxes with your information, sign, date, and designate your relationship to the donor.
- Please have 1 witness sign and date for verification.
(THE WITNESS NEEDS TO BE A DISINTERESTED PERSON NOT A FAMILY MEMBER)
California Donor Registration Form:
- There is important information included on this form.
- Please read and complete both pages with the donor’s information.
- Please sign, and date on the 2nd page in the Person Authorizing Donation box. The person who is authorizing the donation is the person who should sign this form.
Research For Life Donor Registration Packets
We are here for you, 24 hours a day, to report a death or to determine eligibility for a pending death. For non-emergencies or non-urgent pre-registration please call during normal business hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Arizona Mountain Time
Research For Life Arizona Office: 480.940.1310
Research For Life California Office: 951.719.3334
Our toll-free line: 1.800.229.3244
We have included specific, detailed instructions for each donor registration packet. You can access these instructions by clicking on the instructions link located directly beneath each packet.
Each registration packet contains:
- a welcome letter with our contact information and instructions,
- donor prequalification form,
- donation authorization form,
- cremation authorization form, and
- a donor registration form.
It is important to be as thorough as possible. If the registration packet is not completed properly, Research for Life will return it to you for completion.
Once you have decided whether donation is right for your family, please complete the registration packet and mail it to our main office:
Research For Life
2230 E. Magnolia Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034
If accepted, Research for Life will mail an acceptance letter with registration number, a donor ID card for your wallet, and a copy of the registration packet for your records in about 2 weeks. Upon acceptance into our program please make your loved ones or designee aware of your registration so that your wishes will be honored.
We bridge the gap between donors, medical researchers, and educators. Anatomical donation is an imperative part of advancing medicine by improving surgical procedures and providing breakthroughs for generations to come.
Authorization Forms & Next of Kin
The Donation Authorization Form is not valid until notarized or signed by two witnesses; one witness must be non‐family or a disinterested party. This is required, in most instances, by law.
The Cremation Authorization Form is not valid until signed by one witness.
Your next of kin or representative contact is a very important person. It is their responsibility to ensure Research for Life has been contacted in the event of death. Once contacted, Research for Life will arrange for transportation to our facility. Additional contact will be necessary. Research For Life does not order death certificates. Instructions on how to obtain a certified death certificate will be mailed to the next of kin contact or representative contact.
Donation will be denied if donors next of kin or authorized representative refuses to provide the necessary information to complete the authorization for donation (consent forms) or the death registration forms that are required by each state and/or county where death occurs. Much of this information can be provided in advance in the case of pre-registration but an authorized representative will still be needed to provide some assistance.
Video Content: Research For Life CEO, Garland Shreves, discusses some basic information regarding consent forms, in general, that you may encounter when considering to donate to a whole body donor organization.
Read the video transcript
We Respect Your Privacy
At Research For Life we are extremely protective of the information given to us. We will never sell or solicit any information that we have received. The information asked for is required by the state vital registrar to enable death certificate filing. Medical, social, and health-related information is anonymized and shared with researchers or educators for certain projects where such information relating to a donor’s health history is needed.