Learning More About Whole Body Donation Programs In The US

The public today has become much more open to the discussion of someone who is alive donating their body to science. This openness about death brings with it new values, preferences, and opinions that are changing traditions and creating funeral alternatives. People want alternatives to funeral arrangements concerning the final disposition of their bodies. The knowledge that each of us grieve about the death of a loved one in our own individual way permits us to be at peace with these new values and personal commemoratives.

Across the country, knowledge about whole body donation programs in the U.S. is rapidly increasing. In fact, body donation to science is currently the fastest growing trend among funeral alternatives. People want alternatives to the traditional burial or cremation options. The option of body donation at death gives individuals a real way to support medical advances that impact the lives of future generations.

The Cost For Donating Your Body To Science

There is no cost for donating your body to science, and BioGift's program allows closure for the family in a relatively short amount of time.

Programs like BioGift and other whole body donation programs in the U.S. are supported by the many researchers and educators who put the gift of anatomical donation to medical use. As a service organization, we operate on a cost recovery system whereby researchers and educators provide us reasonable reimbursement for the services of procurement, preparation, storage, and placement of the organs, tissues or specimens. This means that there is no cost for donating your body to science.

BioGift abides by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), the National Organ Transplant Act prohibiting the buying or selling of human organs or tissues, the Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPPA), and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Title 45, Part 46, protecting donor confidentiality. Researchers and educators interested in obtaining human tissues from BioGift are required to complete a stringent application and agreement. This ensures confidentiality for someone who is alive donating their body to science.

We are an organization that serves the needs of the scientific medical community through the highest quality of technical standards, tissue traceability and properly executed informed anatomical consents for body donation at death. Important as this is, we define our success most by the honest and sensitive interaction with the families who make our anatomical donation program possible because of individuals donating body to science.

With the ability to help others, obtain solace, acquire quick closure, and refrain from deathcare's financial burdens, more and more individuals today are selecting anatomical body donation to science. Click here for the answers to some frequently asked questions.