How to Donate Your Body to Science

It's the last kind of citizen science you could ever do — but the donation process isn't exactly an easy thing to navigate.

By Leslie Nemo
Jun 23, 2021 6:20 PMJun 23, 2021 6:19 PM
body at the morgue
(Credit: Sam Wordley/Shutterstock)

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One of the last gifts you can conceivably give is yourself — in other words, donating your body to science. Becoming a learning opportunity for researchers or students might be appealing, but handing yourself over to “science” sounds pretty vague, and knowing who to contact or what to ask about the process could seem daunting, particularly if someone doesn’t know anyone else who has donated before.

“I think that body donation is still a fairly unusual choice of disposition,” says Brandi Schmitt, the anatomical services director for University of California Health. If you're considering this option, here are some tips on finding the donation opportunity that’s just right for you.

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