Referral and Recovery Process

Many researchers need human organs, eyes and tissues within hours of death or surgery so it is essential that we expedite the referral and recovery process. Although we welcome calls offering already procured donations, it is best if you call us before the tissue, eye or organ is recovered so we can make sure the recovery and preservation requirements of individual researchers are met. Below is an outline of the steps in the referral and recovery process that explains what we expect from you, and what you can expect from us:

1. Consent—All donors or their families must sign a consent form that specifies that their organs, eyes or tissues can be used for research. This form should indicate if the research can include for-profit basic research and international research, as well as domestic non-profit research. Hospitals with surgery consent forms specifying that surgical discards can be used for research do not have to acquire additional consent when providing these tissues to NDRI.

The informed consent process should address the common concerns of families, including assurances that the loved one’s body will be treated with respect, donation will not affect funeral arrangements, and they will not be charged for costs related to donation. You should tell families exactly which parts of the body can be donated and give them the option to exclude certain tissues or organs from donation. You should also let families know how the anatomical gifts will be used, and that the donated organs and tissues will be processed and preserved prior to use in research.

When approaching families for consent, find out if the donor had any rare diseases. One in ten Americans has a rare disease, and their tissues are invaluable for rare disease researchers as well as investigators of more common diseases. (For a complete listing of rare diseases, go to http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html.)

2. Contact NDRI--Once you have received informed research consent, contact an NDRI staff coordinator at 800-222-6374. Be prepared to give the date, time, and cause of death (or reason for surgery if tissue is a surgical discard), and the donor’s race, age, serology information (if available), and any other relevant medical history. Be sure to let us know if the donor had a rare disease.

We do not accept tissue with a known infectious disease, except for HIV-positive tissues needed by HIV researchers. . The NDRI staff coordinator may not be able to accept the donation immediately. Instead, he or she will call you back as soon as a researcher confirms that the tissue is needed—usually within an hour.

3. Recovery of organs and/or tissues—Since research donation generally occurs after the recovery of organs and tissues for transplantation, it does not interfere with regular recovery procedures. Also, most organs and tissues do not require recovery by a transplant surgeon.

If an organ or tissue has not been recovered, a NDRI coordinator will specify the researcher’s requirements for procuring and preserving it. You will be responsible for this step in the process, including the packaging for shipping. We will supply any needed materials that are beyond the standards of organ, eye or tissue recovery, including special media and preservation.

You must document all the organs and tissues you recover, including tissue or organ type, date procured, your reference number, NDRI’s reference number, age, race, and sex of the donor, preservation method, and date shipped. All specimen containers must be labeled with your reference number, tissue type, , and NDRI number. . Unless the package is going to NDRI’s laboratory, make sure there is no information that discloses the identity of the donor within the package, as NDRI is committed to providing tissues to researchers in an anonymous fashion. Please fax all donor information, including surgery consent forms when relevant, to NDRI at (215)557-7154.

4. Shipping of organs or tissues—Upon acceptance of the organ or tissue, we will provide a reference number and arrange shipments directly to our researcher. NDRI will incur all shipping expenses. All packages will be shipped by either private courier or Fed Ex Priority Overnight.

5. Reimbursement—We will reimburse according to the standard NDRI Reimbursement Schedule. . You must submit an itemized invoice to NDRI for reimbursement after each recovery. This invoice should include the NDRI identification number provided to you.

To learn more about becoming and NDRI research partner please contact us at 800-222-6374.