Through its partnership with CBTN, GFAC makes tissue donation possible across most pediatric hospitals in the U.S. Families are supported through a compassionate, guided process led by dedicated Tissue Navigators and provided at no cost to the family.
GFAC was inspired by Michael “Mikey” Gustafson, a courageous teen who, knowing he would not survive brain cancer, chose to donate his tissue to help children he would never meet. Today, Mikey’s legacy lives on in every GFAC donation, carefully stewarded by CBTN, paired with clinical and molecular data, and shared with researchers worldwide to turn love into discovery and loss into lasting impact.
GFAC and CBTN reflect the core values of collaboration, stewardship, and shared responsibility. Every donation is honored, protected, and used with intention. Families give in hope. Clinicians work in trust. Researchers explore with determination. Together, they form a living research network that transforms loss into progress.
Choosing post-mortem tissue donation is a deeply personal decision. For families who choose this path, GFAC provides clarity, compassion, and care, without pressure.
Donation helps researchers better understand a child’s brain tumor in ways not always possible during treatment, revealing how tumors change over time and supporting discoveries that may lead to gentler, more effective therapies. Every gift is treated with deep respect, intention, and scientific integrity.
Most of all, it creates a legacy, transforming a child’s life and love into hope for other families. Families can explore the donation process on the GFAC website or request guidance at any time.
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Clinical Impact Through Care Teams
Post-mortem donation gives families an informed choice and offers care teams a meaningful way to support both compassion and discovery. In a GFAC survey, 96% of respondents who chose donation say they would recommend it to other families —but when it isn’t discussed, families lose the opportunity to decide. Through GFAC, clinical teams are supported by a coordinated, family-centered process that minimizes burden on providers and institutions by managing consent, coordination, and logistics, while enabling hospitals to retain donated tissue locally or receive tissue back through CBTN for clinical or research use.
Scientific Impact Through Pediatric Research
Post-mortem donation provides access to the full biological complexity of disease, far beyond what surgical sampling alone offers. Through CBTN, tissue and data can be returned in abundance, enabling research models that more accurately reflect children’s experiences. Donated tissue is integrated with longitudinal clinical and molecular data, supporting deeper analysis and helping researchers understand how tumors evolve over time. Shared through CBTN’s global data platforms, these resources allow scientists worldwide to collaborate, compare findings, and accelerate discovery.
