Anatomy Bequest Program

The Anatomy Bequest Program at the University of Minnesota is a whole body donation program. Our purpose is to support medical research and education for health professionals by facilitating the donation process.

Whole Body Donation Makes a Difference

You can contribute to medical research and education by gifting your remains through the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Anatomy Bequest Program. Whole body donation supports high quality education for future health professionals and continued advancements in medical care through research.

Thinking about donating your body to medical science? Here’s some information to get started exploring this possibility.

Service of Gratitude

We are deeply grateful for the generosity and wisdom of whole body donors and their families. Each year, faculty, staff, and students host a service of gratitude to recognize and honor the individuals who have gifted their remains to the University for the advancement of medical science. 

We understand that the recent disturbing news about the illegal trafficking of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary may have caused distress and created concerns for our potential donors and our donor families.

We want to assure you that we have extensive systems in place to ensure donations are honored in the manner the donor specified. We are deeply committed to our ethical approach: “Protecting donor autonomy and preserving dignity. Practicing compassion, respect, empathy, and caring in all interactions.” Please see our complete Values statement here.

Please see more information about the Anatomy Bequest Program’s systems in our Frequently Asked Questions here.