Medical school and body donation FAQs
Our role is to make sure that these organisations remove, store, and use brains, bodies and tissues in an appropriate, respectful and well-managed way, and that the wishes of individual patients and their families are respected.
The HTA’s regulation helps ensure that tissue is stored to high standards, to be of most use to healthcare training and research. We know that more people are willing to donate in the knowledge there is an effective regulator that monitors and inspects organisations against certain standards.
Body donations are highly valued by staff and students at medical schools. A donated body can be used for a number of purposes, which may include:
- Anatomical examination – teaching students or healthcare professionals about the structure and function of the human body.
- Research – scientific studies which improve the understanding of the human body.
- Education and training – training healthcare professionals on surgical techniques.
Use our tool to find your nearest medical school
Anyone can decide to donate their body, and medical schools welcome the offer of a donation. If you are interested in donating your body, you will need to contact a medical school for further information and a consent form. For information about how to contact your local medical school, enter your postcode into our search tool or contact us directly.
We do not regulate body donation in Scotland. People living in Scotland can find more information about body donation on the Scottish government website.
Under the Human Tissue Act 2004, written and witnessed consent for anatomical examination must be given prior to death. Consent cannot be given by anyone else after your death. A consent form can be obtained from your local medical school and a copy should be kept with your Will. You should also inform your family, close friends, and GP that you wish to donate your body.
Medical schools which accept donated bodies will normally only accept donations from within their local area due to the transport costs involved. Offers of body donation from outside the area may be accepted on the condition that the donor’s estate bears the cost of transporting the body. Full details can be obtained directly from the medical schools.
You can use our find a medical school tool to find the closest medical school to you based on your postcode. This toll contains all the relevant contact information to begin the process of confirming you donation and providing consent.
Medical schools will usually decline a body donation if the person has undergone surgery to remove organs for transplantation. However, if after death, the person is found unsuitable to be an organ donor, then body donation to a medical school can be taken forward by the relatives, solicitor or executor of the Will if valid, written consent from the donor in life is in place.
If a person wishes to register for both organ and tissue donation and body donation, the HTA advises that the person ensures that those closest to them are aware of their wishes.
For more information on organ and tissue donation, please visit the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
If you would like to donate your body for anatomical examination and you do not wish to be considered as an organ and tissue donor, you can ‘opt out’ on the NHS Organ Donor Register. If you do not ‘opt out’, your consent to organ and tissue donation may be deemed if you live and die in England or Wales. If you have registered for both organ and tissue donation and body donation, deemed consent will not affect your wishes.
For more information on organ and tissue donation and deemed consent, please see our Public Guide on Code F.
All medical schools welcome the offer of a donation. However, certain medical conditions may lead to the offer being declined. Medical schools can give you more information about these conditions and any other reasons why a body donation may be declined.
Post-mortem examination (sometimes referred to as an ‘autopsy’) is an important reason why a medical school might decline the offer of a body donation. We recommend that potential donors and their families are prepared to consider alternative arrangements in these circumstances, which can arise unexpectedly. Depending on the circumstances of a person’s death, a Coroner might require, by law, that a post-mortem examination takes place.
It is important to note that medical schools might not be able to accept donated bodies during holiday periods, such as Christmas.
If no medical school is able to accept your offer, your estate will need to make suitable funeral arrangements.
Medical schools may hold committal, memorial or thanksgiving services. Further information can be obtained directly from the medical school.
Some medical schools may request that the donor’s estate contribute to the cost of transporting the body, particularly if the donation falls outside of the medical school’s local area. Full details can be obtained directly from the medical school.
No. The Human Tissue Act 2004 requires a positive decision to be made in writing, by the person, before their death.
The Isle of Man and Channel Islands have no body donation process of their own. It might be possible for a medical school on the UK mainland to accept a body donation from the Isle of Man or Channel Islands, as long as the requirements of the Human Tissue Act 2004 are met.
If you live in in the Isle of Man or Channel Islands and are considering body donation, you may need to make financial arrangements with a local funeral director in relation to the transportation of your body to the medical school of your choice.
The HTA has no role in regulating anatomy teaching in Scotland. If you live in Scotland and wish to donate your body contact details of medical schools can be obtained from the Scottish Government.
Body donations are required for training and education worldwide so you may wish to consider donating your body in your current country of residence.
Where ‘anatomical examination’ is concerned, the Human Tissue Act 2004 (the ‘HT Act’) does not apply in areas outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the HT Act does allow ‘imported’ bodies and other human material to be stored and used for anatomical examination in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Although imported bodies and material are exempt from the HT Act’s requirements for consent, death certification and registration, a medical school might ask potential donors to follow their usual consent procedures before a donation may be accepted. It is possible that anatomy establishments might not want to accept donations from people who have died abroad.
If you have moved to a new area of the country, but still want to donate your body to the medical school linked to your old postcode, please contact them for more details. Some medical schools may request that your estate contribute to the cost of transporting your body if the donation falls outside of the medical school’s local area.
More details can be obtained directly from your local medical school which you can find with our find a medical school tool.
England and Wales both operate an ‘opt-out’ system of organ and tissue donation otherwise known as deemed consent. This means that unless a person has registered or expressed a decision not to donate their organs and tissue after their death, they will be regarded as having no objection to donating their organs and tissues after their death. This applies unless the person is in an excluded group.
Body donation is not affected by the ‘opt-out’ systems, this only applies to organ and tissue donation for transplantation after death.
Body donation still requires written, witnessed consent from the individual before they die. It cannot be agreed by a person’s friends or family after their death.
The law affecting body donation (the Human Tissue Act 2004) came into force on 1 September 2006. It allows documented and valid consent for body donation made under the old law to be honoured. To avoid any unnecessary confusion or delays after you die, it is advised that you include an updated intention to donate your body for anatomical examination in your Will.
More details can be obtained directly from your local medical school which you can find with our find a medical school tool.
No. The Human Tissue Act 2004 requires a positive decision to be made in writing, by the person, before their death.
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