Empowering Research through Tissue Donation

When a child’s life ends too soon, donating tissue is a way for the child to take a final stand against cancer. Tissue donation is a contribution that improves outcomes for children with brain cancer that only families can make. And many families find knowing their child will continue to have an impact even after death very comforting. Donating can be a positive first step in their grieving process, as solace can be found in helping future children and families.

The Swifty Foundation has invested 5.8 million dollars in Gift from a Child (GFAC) and the Children’s Brain Tumor Network, GFAC’s coordinating center. GFAC is a Swifty led program and a national initiative supported by families who have lost children to brain cancer, private foundations, researchers and medical professionals. GFAC’s mission is to make it possible for any child to donate post-mortem tissue and to change the culture so all families are given the opportunity to donate their child’s tissue.

Gift from a Child has streamlined the donation process and made it accessible to families anywhere in the country by forming partnerships with the best researchers and medical providers who value collaboration and data sharing. These strategic partnerships will accelerate breakthrough cancer research, improve treatments and ultimately CURE childhood brain cancer.

Swifty has funded a Tissue Navigator at each of its 7 Regional Centers of Excellence. Navigators educate patients, families and staff about the value of tissue donation and assist patients and families with the logistics related to donating. The navigators will also coordinate tissue donations from local and regional hospitals without formal donation programs.

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