Donating your body to medical science: consent, what happens and funerals

Donating your body to a medical school is a generous gift. Donors help students, surgeons and researchers learn about the human body. It takes some planning, because the decision has to be made and recorded during your life, and a donation can’t always be accepted. This guide explains how it works across the UK, and what it means for a funeral.

Key points

• You must give consent yourself, in writing, with a witness, before you die.
• Your family cannot consent on your behalf after your death.
• Contact your nearest medical school, which provides the consent form.
• A donation can be declined at the time of death, so have a back-up funeral plan.
• Organ donation for transplant takes priority and usually rules out body donation.
• Afterwards, the medical school usually arranges a cremation and holds a thanksgiving service.

Who regulates body donation?

The HTA doesn’t accept donations or keep a register of donors. You deal directly with a medical school. In Scotland, five universities accept donated bodies: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews.

How to register as a donor

1. Talk to your family and executor so they know what to do.
2. Find your nearest medical school. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HTA’s website has a postcode finder. In Scotland, the Scottish Government lists the five universities’ bequest coordinators.
3. Complete the consent form the school sends you, and sign it in front of a witness.
4. Keep a copy with your will, and tell your GP and executor.

Medical schools normally accept donations only from their local area. A school further away may agree if your estate pays the extra transport costs.

Consent rules at a glance

Don’t rely only on your will. Wills are often read after the time when a donation could have been arranged. If you do mention it in your will or a letter, make clear you mean anatomical examination (teaching anatomy by dissection), not just “medical research”, or the school may have to decline. If you can’t physically write, the HTA’s model forms allow a representative to sign for you during your life, in front of a witness.

Why a donation might not be accepted

No medical school can guarantee acceptance. The decision is made at the time of death. Reasons can include:

• a post-mortem, including one ordered by a coroner
• certain infections
• recent surgery where wounds haven’t healed, or a major amputation
• severe bedsores, some conditions such as dementia, or significant size or weight
• organs donated for transplant
• holiday closures, such as Christmas, or a lack of space.

If the donation isn’t accepted, the family must arrange a funeral in the usual way, so it’s important to leave back-up wishes. Our funeral wishes tool can help.

Organ donation and body donation

You can register as an organ donor and a body donor. If you die in circumstances where organ donation is possible, transplantation comes first, and a medical school will usually then decline the body. Donating only your corneas may still allow body donation.

The opt-out (“deemed consent”) system for organ donation doesn’t apply to body donation, which always needs your own written consent. If you’d rather be a body donor and never an organ donor, you can record an opt-out decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

What happens when the donor dies

• The next of kin or executor phones the medical school as soon as possible. Some schools are closed at weekends and on bank holidays, so leave a message.
• The death is registered in the usual way. See how to register a death.
• The school decides quickly whether it can accept the donation, often after speaking to the doctor.
• If accepted, the school’s funeral director collects the person. The estate may have to pay for any care from another funeral director before this.

How long is the body kept?

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland: the HTA’s model consent form lets the donor choose, for example a maximum of three years, or no time limit, and whether any parts may be kept for longer. Check your school’s form.
• Scotland: the law allows universities to keep a body for up to three years. Parts can be kept longer only if the donor gave permission.

Funerals and memorials

Donating your body doesn’t mean there’s no chance to say goodbye.

• A memorial service can be held soon after the death, without the body. Many families hold a celebration of life. See what happens at a funeral and how to write a eulogy.
• Cremation. When the school has finished, it usually arranges and pays for a cremation. Family may be invited to a short service.
• Ashes. Next of kin can usually collect the ashes or have them scattered at the crematorium. In Scotland, cremations are carried out individually.
• Private funeral. The family may be able to ask for a private burial or cremation at their own expense. Not all schools offer burial.
• Thanksgiving services. Medical schools often hold an annual service for donors’ families.

Other ways to help medical research

If whole-body donation isn’t right for you, you could register as an organ donor, or ask about brain donation through a brain bank. The HTA’s website has information on brain and tissue donation.

Next steps

• Record your wishes, including a back-up plan, with our funeral wishes tool.
• Consider a funeral plan or direct cremation as a fallback.
• Read about how to plan a funeral.