NFDA is working hard every day to secure congressional support for the CDRI Act but we can’t do it alone. We are stronger – and more successful – when you join us in speaking out on behalf of the families you serve.
We’re asking you to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support the CDRI Act. Contacting your Representative and Senators is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
1. Click here and enter your address to find contact information for your Representative and Senators.
2. Compose an email to your members of Congress. Here’s a sample email you can use; feel free to personalize it as appropriate.
Subject: Protect the Dignity of Those Who Donate Their Bodies for Medical Research and Give Peace of Mind to Families
Text:
As a funeral director, when a family asks me to care for a loved one who has died they are placing a great deal of trust in me. That trust – to care for their loved one with respect and dignity – is sacred to me.
I have heard heartbreaking stories about families that believed they were doing a good thing when they donated a loved one’s body for medical research. They truly believed the donation would create a positive legacy. However, the repugnant actions of bodybrokers have only caused further grief.
A lack of government regulation can sometimes mean that a family’s gift is not used as intended – mistreated, misplaced and handled without dignity. Can you imagine that happening to someone you love.
The solution is The Consensual Donation and Research Integrity (CDRI) Act (S. 4929/H.R. 4062), which will protect the dignity of donors and give families peace of mind by creating standards for registration; inspection; chain of custody; labeling and packaging; and proper disposition.
The tragic headlines about body brokers taking advantage of the generosity of donors and donor families by selling and reselling body parts at a substantial profit are shocking. I urge you to support the CDRI Act and help prevent families from enduring the heartache that far too many have already endured.
Members of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, which are already strictly regulated, are exempt from the CDRI Act. Additionally, the bill will not impact negatively medical schools and other similar organizations that have a long and well-documented history of handling donated bodies with respect and dignity. In fact, medical schools will benefit from this bill because some of them have seen a decline in donations because they do not engage in the same aggressive marketing and solicitation tactics used by body brokers.
By supporting the CDRI Act, you will provide long-overdue accountability and transparency to the whole-body donation process and ensure donors’ bodies are treated with dignity and respect at all times. The families of donors deserve peace of mind, knowing their loved one’s body will make a difference.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Business Name
Your City, Your State
3. Proofread your message and then send it off to your representative!
Collectively, our voices are stronger when we speak together. Thank you again for taking a few minutes to contact your Representative on this important issue; this simple act shows just how much you care for the families you serve.