TAMPA, Fla. – SynDaver, the famous manufacturer of synthetic humans and animals used for medical and scientific learning which has been featured on ABC’s Sharktank, Discovery Channel’s MythBusters and more, announced they will no longer be accepting Discover Card payments as of Friday.
The move comes after Discover Card told Forbes on Thursday that they would ban customers from using their Discover Card on GiveSendGo.com, a Christian crowdfunding platform, after friends and family of Kyle Rittenhouse supported a campaign to help raise funds for his legal defense.
Rittenhouse is the 17-year-old who is accused of shooting three rioters one evening in late August in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“I will not tolerate the double standards and the complete hypocrisy showcased by companies like Discover, Facebook and GoFundMe,” said Dr. Christopher Sakezles, founder of SynDaver. “Kyle has not even been convicted of a crime, yet Discover Card has banned the ability for their customers to donate to his legal defense. This is ironic, as they have no issue with allowing people to send money to inmates and convicts who have been convicted of violent and heinous crimes. If they’ll support criminals, but not respect the internationally recognized human right of presumption of innocence, I will no longer allow our customers to use Discover Card as a payment option.”
A quick search on Google confirms that Discover Card is a widely accepted payment method for people who wish to transfer money to inmates and convicts at many prisons and jails.
According to a press release issued by GiveSendGo Thursday, the company says that Discover Card announced plans to no longer allow their customers to donate on GiveSendGo. Additionally, Facebook has prohibited the ability of Facebook users to share the link to the Rittenhouse fundraiser on GiveSendGo. Stripe, the payment processer used by GiveSendGo, has also attempted to shut down their ability to collect payments multiple times.Furthermore, Amazon Web Services, which hosts GiveSendGo, reached out to GiveSendGo with a warning. GiveSendGo’s founders also says the company had received an onslaught DDoS attacks and fraudulent emails, in addition to violent death threats.
SynDaver will still accept payments made by customers using Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Additionally, if someone is having an issue contributing to Rittenhouse’s defense fund, SynDaver will pass through contributions.
About SynDaver
Headquartered in Tampa, SynDaver is the world’s leading manufacturer of hyper-realistic, synthetic human and animal models for medical education, training and surgical simulation. SynDaver’s synthetic bodies mimic live tissue properties and are used by high schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, medical device companies and the military for training, testing and validation. SynDaver has the world’s largest database of live-tissue properties. Made from a proprietary formula of water, salts and fibers, the company holds 16 patents on their materials, processes and the related products. SynDaver has more than 100 employees at its facilities in the U.S. and is planning additional facilities in Europe, China, Brazil and India. SynDaver products have been lauded by industry experts and earned a cult following after appearances on ABC’s Shark Tank, MythBusters, Grey’s Anatomy and the series finale of CSI. For more information on SynDaver or their product offerings, visit http://SynDaver.com.
