News Release

Minnesota Commission of the Procurement and Use of Anatomical Donations

News Release            
For Immediate Release

Minnesota Organizations Create a National Model
Ethical Procurement and Use of Human Anatomical Donations

Minnesotais First to Set Stage for Consistent Use of Best Practices

MINNEAPOLIS – (April 3, 2006) – Minnesota is about to become the first state in the nation where best practice protocols for the procurement and use of human anatomical donations will be cooperatively supported by representatives of medical, research and academic institutions, funeral directors, and tissue and eye procurement organizations.  Best practice protocols will protect health care professionals, biomedical researchers, funeral directors, health science educators, students and donation recipients by preventing inappropriate and unethical procurement and uses of donations.

Nine organizations and agencies have joined together to establish the Minnesota Commission of the Procurement and Use of Anatomical Donations (Commission).  The overall goal of the Commission is to promote the ethical procurement and appropriate use of human donations for research and education and to increase donations in the State of Minnesota.

“Donation is key to advancing research and education that leads to identifying diseases and health conditions and the development of treatments and cures.” said Angela McArthur, chair of the newly-formed Minnesota Commission.  “We want to ensure the right and ethical use of donations in Minnesota so public interest in donation continues to grow.  Everyone involved with donation, from donors and donor families to professionals and recipients want to be assured of appropriate and safe use of donations.”

According to McArthur, the Minnesota Commission will review current practices and provide recommendations for best practices for ethical donation, procurement, screening and testing, preservation, distribution, as well as final disposition for human anatomical donations.”

Anatomical Donations Benefit Health

There is an ongoing and growing need for more human anatomical donations to benefit public and individual health through research, education and transplants.  

• In the Midwest alone, hundreds of life science and academic organizations depend upon research to identify the causes of diseases and develop treatments.
• Thousands of health professionals, emergency providers, funeral directors and bio-medical device engineers and others receive training and education in Minnesota through the use of anatomical donations.
• 90,000 individuals across the United States and more than 2,300 people in Minnesota are awaiting organs or tissues for lifesaving or restorative transplants. 

Annually, more than 37,000 deaths are reported in Minnesota.  Of these deaths, thousands have chosen to list their donation wishes on their driver’s licenses or through health care directives or other donor designation methods.  In 2004, more than 255 individuals donated their bodies for research and education to Minnesota medical schools. 

“We need more people to say yes to donation.  Donation saves lives through critical research, education of health professionals, as well as through transplantation,” said McArthur.  “While many people sign up to be donors, at the time of death they may not qualify as donors for transplantation.   However, they could still meet donation needs for valuable research and education,” said McArthur.  “To ensure support of research, education and transplantation, we need more people to both be aware of the benefits of donation and to be confident on how donations will be obtained and used.”    

“The Minnesota Commission’s goal is to continue to increase human anatomical donations that will benefit health through research, education, clinical practice and the health industry as a whole.  To do that we will lead the way by identifying if current practices do or don’t meet best practices and advocate for the needed changes,” said McArthur.

“We expect that our work will directly result in improved safety for everyone involved in donation.  We will strengthen the donation process, so that donors and their family members fully understand every aspect of donation, including final disposition.  The general public will have more information to help them make informed decisions about donation for research and education.”

Commission Members

The founding members of the Minnesota Commission for the Procurement and Use of Anatomical Donations include:

• American Tissue Services Foundation
• Arrowhead Funeral Directors’ Association
• Gustilo Medical Education Center
• Mayo Medical School Department of Anatomy
• Medical Alley / MNBIO
• Minnesota Funeral Directors Association
• Minnesota Lions Eye Bank
• TRIA Orthopaedic Research Institute
• University of Minnesota Medical School