Anatomical Gift Donation

Anatomical Gift Donation

Some people choose to donate their whole body to medical science for use as a teaching tool in a medical school. In California, medical schools offering this option include the University of California campuses at San Francisco, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego and Irvine, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and Loma Linda University. It is possible to designate on your Department of Motor Vehicle donor card your preference to have your whole body donated. Or you can contact the medical school.

Whether you designate yourself on your DMV donor card or contact the medical school directly, consent from your next-of-kin is still needed.

The Office of the State Curator at UCSF keeps a database of people who have completed forms and have been accepted into the program. However, they don't find out about the death of a donor unless they are notified by the next-of-kin. The expense of transporting the remains from the place of death to the university is the responsibility of the next-of-kin. Donated bodies are usually transported by a mortuary or removal service. The mortuary or removal service will be responsible for filing the death certificate with the county health department and for providing a Permit for Disposition to the curator's office.

UCSF's willed body program receives about 250 bodies per year, says curator Dori Murray. Medical conditions that would prevent acceptance as a donor include contagious diseases like hepatitis, HIV or active tuberculosis. Serious trauma to the body at the time of death or advanced decomposition would also exclude the remains from the program. In the event of an autopsy or a major surgery that preceded death, the curator considers whether the cadaver still meets particular needs of the program and makes a decision on a case-by-case basis.

If UCSF is contacted directly, there are several forms that must be completed before the school can consider a person's plans to donate their body to medical science. The forms require the signatures of the potential donor and two witnesses. Other requested information includes data that is normally gathered for a death certificate, such as parents' names and date of birth.

The forms also require the potential donor to describe their present state of health and any illnesses, operations or accidents. If the person is accepted as a donor, a registration card the size of a business card is sent to them so they can keep it in their wallet.

When the donor dies, their remains are embalmed and a chemical mixture replaces their blood. These methods of preservation allow medical schools to use and study a body for years. Most of the bodies donated to UCSF are used to teach anatomy and health science professionals and students. Other bodies may be used by researchers, physicians or scientists in connection with surgery training or other research, according to UCSF program literature.