On average, nearly 3 million Americans are planning a memorial service for a family member every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

This year, families will pay nearly $7,000 to bury a loved-one on average in the United States. It’s slightly less in Arizona, according to the state Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.

That estimate is still in stark contrast to the cost families pay opting for whole-body donations, where cremation costs are absorbed by the collecting agency, rarely by the family.

At Science Care, the largest whole-body donation service in the United States, pre-registration has spiked 54 percent this year, especially in Arizona, California and Texas.

Since the Phoenix-based company started in 2000, it has reported helping families contribute to hundreds-of-thousands of medical research and education programs nationwide.