Anatomical Donations Program Office of Medical Education

The following article appeared in Michigan Funeral Directors Association Journal (2000) Vol. 59, No. 6, p. 22.

What professional services are needed when a family chooses Body Donation?

It may happen that a family comes to the funeral home to make arrangements and they inquire about body donation. Many funeral homes assume this means their services are no longer needed and they encourage the family to make an alternative choice. Others make the mistake of stating the fact that medical schools have no need for more body donations. This statement could get the funeral home in legal trouble if the family calls a medical school and discovers this is simply not true.

This is the new age of service. Any funeral director that is truly interested in helping the families they serve as well as producing more funds for the company they are employed, needs to understand there are several different services and products the family may need when selecting body donation.

Every body donation program operates differently, simply because they have different needs. The question to a funeral director, "What do I need to do if body donation is selected?" is similar to the question funeral directors hear from families, "What does a funeral cost?"

Many circumstances determine what needs to be done by the funeral home. Among them are location of the deceased, location of the school, whether or not visitation, a casket, embalming, or professional services are needed, and most obviously, what type of memorial or funeral service will be selected. Quite realistically, any variance in products or services the funeral home, the law, the school or the family requires, can change the price that a body donation could cost the family.

My recommendation would be to first, educate yourself by asking the family what expectations they have by choosing body donation. Find out from the family if they have a particular medical school in mind, that way if they only desire a particular medical school you know whom to call. If they are not particular, I suggest calling all three schools. This will help them decide which medical school best serves them. It may be a financial decision; it could be a philosophical decision or just a simple wish the deceased had during life. After these decisions are made it makes it easy to decide what are most simple and advantageous to the family and the funeral home.

All of medical schools in Michigan offer some sort of compensation to the family, sometimes it is in service, other times it is financial, and many times it is simply the ability to accept the deceased into the body donation program of the their choice.

It needs to be made perfectly clear that benefits from the medical schools vary depending on the anatomical need, academic mission and budget limitations of the institution.

Dean A. Mueller
Coordinator - University of Michigan Anatomical Donations Program

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Did you know :

University of Michigan Medical School celebrated its 150th year of existence in 2000.

The first class met on October 3, 1850 and had 91 students. Tuition was an amazing $5.00.

Over 18,000 Physicians have received their M.D. from University of Michigan since 1851.

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For more information and answers to specific questions please call or contact the following Michigan Medical Schools.


-University of Michigan-
Anatomical Donations Program
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0608
Phone -(734)764-4359
E-mail - donorinfo@umich.edu
Web Page - www.med.umich.edu/anatomy/donors

-Michigan State University-
Willed Body Program
East Lansing, Michigan
Phone - (517) 353-5398
E-mail - liles@com.msu.edu
Web Page - www.chm.msu.edu/Anatomy/Anatomy.html

-Wayne State University-
Body Bequest Program
Detroit, Michigan 48201
Phone - (313) 577-1188
E-mail - brosso@med.wayne.edu