For additional information, please contact:
Mary Kueppers
E206 East Fee Hall
517-353-5398

An ever-increasing number of people make arrangements to leave their bodies for anatomical study, thereby providing a most unique and caring gift. Such people have rendered a significant service after death to their fellow men and women.

Each year nearly 250 men and women begin their medical careers at Michigan State University's two medical schools - the College of Human Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine. The curriculum of each college requires anatomical study of the human body. Without the generous gift of donors to the Department of Anatomy's Willed Body Program, the study of anatomy would not be possible.

Act 368 of the Public Acts of Michigan 1978, Article 10, Part 101, authorizes an individual to will his or her body after death to any medical institution. Excerpts from this act are printed on the donor form. The three universities in Michigan that have medical schools are Michigan State University, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University. All are designated to receive bodies, and donations may be made to any of these schools.

This pamphlet describes the procedure for willing one's body to Michigan State University for medical education and answers commonly asked questions about donation. It also describes our commitment to the dignity and respect of donors.

Considering the Donor Program

Anatomy, the study of the human body, is one of the first and most important courses in the education of physicians. In most medical schools the study of anatomy is taught in the first year and serves as the foundation for courses in pathology, physiology, and surgery.

The generous gift of one's body for medical education assists in maintaining the department's teaching program and enhances its commitment to teaching excellence.

Cornea and Organ Donation

The Department of Anatomy only accepts whole bodies for medical education because organ donation renders the body unsuitable for our teaching program. However, the Department of Anatomy will accept bodies following eye removal for the purpose of cornea transplant provided all other criteria are met. The Department does not conduct eye removals. Arrangements for eye removal should be made by the family and the procedure performed prior to the body being transported to the university. Individuals seeking information on cornea donation should contact:

Michigan Eye Bank
W.K. Kellogg Eye Center
1000 Wall Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(313 764-3262

Information on other types of organ and tissue donation may be obtained through:

Gift of Life Agency
2203 Platte Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48104 1-800-482-4881

Respect for the Dead

Survivors may derive comfort from the knowledge that dignity and respect for those who have donated their bodies is maintained at all times. The indispensable contribution that participants in the Willed Body Program have made is fully recognized. The laboratory is situated in a restricted area and only medical students, faculty, staff, or students of health-related professions are authorized to use the facility.

Final Disposition of Remains

After use in our teaching program (from one to three years), the bodies are individually cremated and the cremated remains are buried in the University burial plot in East Lawn Memory Gardens in Okemos, Michigan. Each September the department conducts an interment service for those individuals who have been cremated that year. Family members who choose to be notified of this service are invited to attend. The family may request return of the ashes for private burial. However, the family is responsible for making burial arrangements and for the costs associated with the burial. Although a common grave site is used each year, the cremated remains are buried in individual urns.

Body Donation Procedures

If, after reading this information, you wish to donate your body to Michigan State University, you need only to request and complete a donor form. Send one copy to the Department of Anatomy and retain the other two for your records. Upon receipt of your signed and witnessed donor form, a wallet-sized identification card will be forwarded to you.

It is advisable that your next of kin be informed of your intentions and become familiar with the information in this pamphlet.

Click here to go to the printable donor form*. This form includes three copies of the donor consent form. There are two options for filling out the form:

1. Fill out the form using Adobe Reader. (NOTE: Using this method you will only need to fill in the first page, the second and third pages will be filled in automatically)
   • Within the document window click on each of the areas (Date Signed, Name, Address, etc.) and enter the requested information.
   • Print the entire document and sign (donor and witnesses) each of the three copies.
2. Print the form and fill out all three copies.

Keep two copies of the donor form for your records, and return one signed and witnessed copy of the form to:

Willed Body Program
Radiology
Anatomy and Structural Biology
Michigan State University
E206 Fee Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1316

Phone: (517) 353-5398
Fax: (517) 432-2443
Email: mkue@rad.msu.edu

Attention: Funeral directors and Hospitals

To access a copy of the Next-of_Kin donation form click here*. The form may be filled out online then printed.

* Adobe Reader required to view/edit this document

Procedure at the Time of Death

The Department of Anatomy should be contacted as soon as possible once death occurs. During regular working hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.), call (517) 353-5398. At all other times call (517) 355-1855. The decision to accept or reject the donation will be made at that time.

Memorial Gifts

Monetary contributions in memory of deceased friends and family members may be made to the Department of Anatomy. Such gifts are used to improve our educational facilities and teaching materials, and thus have a direct effect on our students' educational facilities and teaching materials, and thus have a direct effect on our student's educational experiences.

As gifts to Michigan State University, memorial contributions may entitle you to a deduction on your itemized federal income tax return and, for Michigan residents, a tax credit on your state income tax return. To make a memorial contribution to the department, make your check payable to Michigan State University. Please designate the Anatomical Gift Fund as recipient and include the name of the person in whose memory the contribution is being made. Your check should be sent to:

Development Fund
Michigan State University
4700 South Hagadorn Road, Ste. 220
East Lansing, MI 48823-5399

Commonly Asked Questions About Body Donation

Q.Will my body automatically be accepted into the Willed Body Program once I sign and return the donor form?

A. No. The decision to accept or reject the donation is always made at the time of death. Therefore, it would be wise to have an alternative plan in the event we are unable to accept the donation.

Q. What conditions would prevent the department from accepting my body?

A. Extensive burns, trauma, surgery, extreme obesity or emaciation, beginning stages of decomposition, and the presence, or suspected presence, of contagious disease (hepatitis, AIDS, Jacob-Kreutzfeld Disease).

Q. Who pays to have my body transported to the university?

A. The department is able to make removals and provide transportation from within the city limits of Lansing. If death occurs outside of the Lansing area, the family must contract with a funeral director to provide transportation to the university. The family is responsible for these costs.

Q. Will I (or my family) be paid for donating my body?

A. No. Donating one's body to medical science is a gift to the receiving institution.

Q. If I am out of the state when I die, will your department still accept my body?

A. No. Because of the time and cost involved in transporting a body from out of state, it is recommended that you explore the possibility of donating your body to the nearest medical school.

Q. Does a funeral director do the embalming and is my family responsible for this expense?

A. No. The embalming procedure takes place at the university by an individual licensed in mortuary science once the body is received. The cost is assumed by the Department of Anatomy.

Q. Is my family responsible for the cost of cremation?

A. No. The department makes all arrangements and pays for cremation.

Q. Will the department conduct any research relevant to the cause of death and provide my family with a report of their findings?

A. No. The bodies received are used strictly for the purpose of medical education in the instruction of anatomy. There are no autopsies performed and no pathological reports prepared.

Q. How long will my body be used by the department?

A. The department may use each body for up to three years for teaching purposes. At the end of that time the body is cremated and instructions provided by the family for disposition are followed.

Q. Can my family have a funeral service before my body is brought to MSU?

A. We prefer to receive the body as soon as possible after death has occurred. However, a funeral is possible prior to the donation but the funeral director needs to contact the department first for specific embalming instructions.

Q. Does the department ever refuse donations because they have an adequate supply of bodies?

A. Not usually. The department has a consistent need for bodies in order to maintain its teaching program. There is a possibility that from time to time we may refuse a donation if our supply exceeds our needs, but this does not happen on a regular basis.