How Donating Your Body to Science Works

There's no one set process for body donation since each organization has its own set of rules. However, the process generally works something like this: First, you need to figure out where you want your body to go — you can choose among a particular university-affiliated medical school (the most common option), a private organization or a government agency. You'll need to fill out a donor consent form ahead of time. Make sure your family knows of your decision, and that you have it written into your will. It's also possible for your family to make the decision to donate your body at the time of your death [sources: US-Funerals, Miller].

Once you die, your chosen institution will determine if it will accept your body. There is no guarantee it will. While factors like age and ethnicity don't matter, institutions might decline donors with HIV 1 or 2, an AIDS-related death, Hepatitis B or C, syphilis, kidney failure or jaundice, a severe bacterial or viral infection resulting in isolation and extensive trauma. They also typically turn away corpses topping 300 pounds (136 kilograms) [sources: US-Funerals, Aleccia]. Since there is a chance a school, organization or agency might decline your body, make sure you make alternate arrangements. You don't want your loved ones suddenly stranded with a dead body.

If your chosen institution accepts your body, that group typically covers all associated costs, including transportation, filing of the death certificate, cremation after use and the return of cremated remains [source: Science Care]. Some groups do require that you arrange to deliver the body to them, especially if they are in another state.

What happens once your body is in a particular institution's hands depends on where you donated your body and that group's mission. But most places will not let you donate your body for a specific purpose — they want to be able to use your body as needed. Medical facilities generally require your body to come with all of its organs, meaning you can't donate your body and also be an organ donor. Other groups, such as Science Care, do allow both organ donation and whole-body donation [sources: Miller, Science Care].

When the group finishes with your body, the leftovers are cremated and returned to your family. No family receives compensation for a body donation; that's illegal [source: Miller].

On the fence about whether or not to donate your body to science? Perhaps you'll develop some clarity if you look at the pros and cons.

Pros: The biggest pro for donating your body is that you'll be helping advance science, medicine and potentially a host of other fields, such as car safety. Educational institutions use cadavers to teach students about anatomy; students and physicians use these bodies to practice various surgeries; and cadavers are helpful in running medical experiments to study diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's [source: Testa].

Another advantage of donating your body is that it saves you money. Funerals aren't cheap. Neither is cremation. In 2021, the average cost of a funeral with a casket was $7,848 [source: National Funeral Directors Association]. Even a simple cremation runs at least $1,500 and can set you back more than $6,971 if it's performed following a funeral service [source: Testa]. Donating your body is generally free, although there can be some minor charges, depending on the organization [source: Marsden].

Finally, arranging to donate your body can be a lot less time-consuming than planning a funeral, picking out a casket and headstone. However, if you still want to plan a memorial service when your cremains are returned to your family, it may be a wash.

Cons: For various medical reasons, organizations will not accept all donated bodies. If you don't have a contingency plan in place and they reject your body, your loved ones will have to scramble to put together a funeral at a very stressful time. Even worse, if you hadn't planned for this possibility, you could leave them with a sizeable, unexpected bill.

Always been a fan of organ donation? While some organizations, like Science Care, accept bodies for both organ and whole-body donation, most medical schools only accept bodies with all of their organs, since they use organs in their research (eyes still may be donated). If organ donation is important to you, make sure you know the rules of the group who will be taking your body [source: Testa].

Last, remember that once you die, your body needs to be handed over pretty quickly. While your family will eventually receive your cremains and may hold a memorial service at that time, they will generally not be able to have a funeral with your body shortly after death and then donate it. Some people may miss the therapeutic aspect of holding a funeral service, although they may opt for a memorial service without the body.

Every country that allows whole-body donation has its own rules regulating the practice. Most, if not all, countries that allow the practice use cadavers to train medical students and conduct research into various ailments, such as Alzheimer's disease. But other countries allow other uses for donated bodies. Perhaps one of the following uses for a cadaver, all allowed in the U.S., will be more appealing to you than research or dissection.