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Health & Illness

Death & Dying
Anatomical Gifts
(Donating a body or skeleton to medical science)

Patient Handout from the CRC Donating a Body or Skeletal Remains to Medical Science Also see our funeral and burial page - with our overall list and individual section handouts

 

• Full Body Anatomical Gifts
• Consent- In most cases the donor consents to donation by pre-registering. Under state law next of kin or a health care proxy may be able to donate prior to death or after death, but we've been informed that, in practice, most schools will only accept donations when the donor has pre-registered. One possible exception- see Tufts below. Alternately, families may consent to donation of skeletal remains- see below.
• Schools
  • UMass Medical School's Anatomical Gift Program
  • Boston University Medical School's Anatomical Gifts program
  • Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gifts Program
  • Tufts University Medical School's Anatomical Gifts program - reportedly the only local school that may allow for next of kin donations, although they prefer for contact to be made prior to the death. If prior arrangements have not been made, they should be contacted by the physician AT THE TIME OF death as the window for donation is only 24 hours. (Thanks to Sandra Stokes for sharing this information.)
• Skeletal Remains
  • The Boston University Donated Osteological Collection is creating a collection of skeletons to be kept at the Boston University Medical school for use in the Forensic Anthropology Master’s Degree program as well as by medical/dental classes and by the State Police. Whole body donation requires the patient to plan ahead and give consent by pre-registering. Next of kin may consent after death to the skeletal remains donation to the Donated Osteological Collection. More information.