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Can donors profit from donating tissue?

At present, neither medical centers nor commercial repositories pay donors for their tissue or their medical record data.

Whether or not donors can profit from research on their tissue is largely determined by state laws. In general, donors who have donated their tissue for researchers to develop genetic testing or therapies are not compensated for their donations. Even in the few cases in which patents have been issued and tissue donors have mounted legal challenges, the courts have not ordered financial compensation to the donors. (See legal cases.)