How Can I Donate My Whole Body to Science?

If you want to donate your body for scientific research, start by contacting a nearby university medical school. Many medical schools use donated bodies for training students in the anatomy lab, for clinical skills development or for research and have a whole-body donation program on site. The American Association for Anatomy’s website offers multiple lists to direct you to participating universities in your state.

Once you have identified a university in your area with a whole-body donation program, contact them directly to review the process with the program coordinator. In most cases, you’ll be asked to fill out a registration form. When this has been reviewed and you’re accepted as a donor, the program coordinator will send you an identification card. 

In addition to medical schools, some private companies accept whole bodies to be used for research and training at locations throughout the U.S.and around the world. Bodies donated to these organizations are used for many different purposes, including:

• Education 
• Research
• Training
• Development of drugs or biologics 

Known as non-transplant anatomical donation organizations or NADOs, these private companies are regulated in a handful of state laws in terms of how they obtain consent from the donor or their family, how they handle and transport the body of the deceased, and how tissue is distributed, since the whole body is rarely used. In other states, they are not regulated. If you wish to contract with a company that ascribes to the higher standards of the American Association of Tissue Banks, you can find a list of accredited NADOs in our available sources. 

Whether you donate your body to a private NADO or a medical school, there is typically no cost to the donor or their family for transportation, tissue recovery or final disposition. Companies make their money from the organizations that receive the body or, in most cases, body parts. These may be billed as handling or processing fees. 

After studies are complete and/or usable tissue removed, the body will either be cremated or disposed of via alkaline hydrolysis (link to heading on AH in alternatives to burial and cremation], each of which turns the body to “ash.” Some universities may return donor bodies to the next of kin for burial. Each organization has its own protocol as to what happens to the ashes afterwards. UCLA’s whole body donation program, for example, scatters the ashes at sea, but some organizations will return the ashes to the family upon request. 

As with organ and tissue donation, you should document your plans for whole-body donation in your advance directive and inform your family of your decision. Keep your identification card with your important documents, and make sure your loved ones know who to call. Most NADOs require that donated bodies arrive at their facility within 48 hours of death.

Sources

“Human Body Donation Resources”. American Association for Anatomy. https://www.anatomy.org/ANATOMY/About-Us/What-Is-Anatomy/Body-Donation-Policy.aspx 

“Accredited Tissue Bank Search”. American Association of Tissue Banks. https://www.aatb.org/accredited-bank-search