We encourage their use by the international, non-profit, research community, but the destructive nature of biochemical analyses demands a particularly careful review of applications. This document describes the procedures for obtaining tissue from the collections of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. Rationale of the Tissue Grant Policy Tissue collections differ from traditional museum collections . Unlike most museum specimens, tissues are consumed by researchers. As a result, we treat tissue requests as we would grant applications, and our grant policy takes steps to prevent depletion of the collection.
Tissues are often expensive, difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes hazardous to collect .
The NRM is interested in the fate of the tissues it grants . We keep careful records of how tissues are used. This information may be required to fulfil obligations to the country of specimen origin, and it is useful for grant proposals. Tissue Grant Policy Preference is given to researchers who also collect specimens themselves . Grantees must provide some evidence of reciprocal benefit to the NRM .