Why Support Research?
Researchers working to understand and develop new therapies for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease, rely on donated tissues for their investigations. Progress in treating common and rare diseases hinges on access to both normal and diseased human tissues. But these donated tissues are often in short supply.
Hospitals are in a unique position to further such research, which may ultimately benefit the lives of millions. Many surgical, autopsy, or archived tissues or organs that are routinely discarded by hospitals can be donated for research, giving patients and families the opportunity to contribute to vital medical research.
Experience has shown us time and again that patients are very willing to donate if it means having a chance to advance medical science and contribute to the development of new treatments and cures.
Why Hospitals Partner with NDRI
NDRI’s experience in providing anatomical gifts for research is unmatched. Many donor programs and hospitals work exclusively with NDRI to manage their organ and tissue research programs. In deciding who to partner with for your research program, please consider the following:
- Extensive nationwide research network — Since 1980, NDRI has provided more than 200,000 human organs and tissues to researchers at top universities, hospitals and medical research centers in the United States.
- Integrity of research assured — Requests by researchers are reviewed and approved by NDRI’s staff and scientific advisory committee, which is comprised of eminent physicians, researchers and ethicists. All researchers must be affiliated with a university or research institute and cannot share specimens with investigators not affiliated with NDRI.
- Federal government oversight — NDRI is the only organization providing anatomical gifts for research that receives major funding and oversight from federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health.
- Quick and easy retrieval — NDRI staff responds quickly, 24 hours a day. We will review your operating room schedule to find cases that may produce specimens valuable for researchers, and to coordinate any special recovery or processing requirements. Our streamlined retrieval procedures and experience with federal, state and hospital internal review board regulations concerning privacy, informed consent and handling of biomaterials make recovery of research tissue easy and efficient.
- Timely feedback — NDRI promptly reports how organs and tissues are used so that you can share the information with families or individuals patients who donated
To find out more about becoming a research partner with NDRI, call 800-222-6374.
The Referral and Recovery Process
Many researchers need donated organs and tissues within hours of death or surgical removal, so it is essential that the recovery process be coordinated as efficiently as possible. This process involves:
- Contacting NDRI
- Obtaining informed research consent from the donor (This may be part of the surgical consent form.)
- Shipping organs and/or tissues
For detailed information on the Referral and Recovery Process, click here.
Current Research Needs
Organs and tissue routinely discarded in hospitals can be invaluable for researchers studying childhood diseases, rare diseases, diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other disorders.
Surgical discards: includes tumors and adjacent normal tissue, explanted organs from transplant recipients, and skin, fat and cartilage tissue removed during plastic surgery. NDRI will work with the leadership in your pathology department to set up protocols to identify surgery cases likely to offer tissues useful to researchers.
Autopsy discards: NDRI can place both normal and diseased autopsy tissues and organs. Short post-mortem recovery times are desirable.
Archived specimens: slides, paraffin blocks, and other archived specimens can provide a wealth of information for researchers when they are no longer needed by a hospital. NDRI staff will work with you to establish a protocol for specimen review and transfer.