A Lasting Gift: Honoring Donors Through the Anatomy Bequest Program

The University of Minnesota’s Anatomy Bequest Program recognizes the extraordinary gift of body donation, which supports education, research, and the training of future health care professionals.

On June 7, 2025, over 1,400 people gathered at Northrop Auditorium for a singular event: the University of Minnesota Medical School’s annual Service of Gratitude. Now the largest event of its kind in the world, the service honors those who have made the extraordinary decision to donate their bodies to the Anatomy Bequest Program.

Angela McArthur, director of the program, says that decision makes a lasting impact. “This type of donation helps us with our medical education and research missions. We support several health science programs, clinical and academic departments, as well as some biomedical device companies.”

The program plays a vital role in health sciences education and training across the U of M and throughout Minnesota. In 2024, it supported 62,000 learner hours on the Twin Cities campus alone. Courses, research studies, and clinical training sessions happen nearly every week. “We’re constantly supporting research requests and medical training requests,” McArthur said.

While many associate body donation with first-year medical students in the anatomy lab, that is only part of the story. “Two-thirds of what we support is for the education research of existing health care clinicians,” McArthur said. That includes surgical skills training, NIH-funded research, and the development of new technologies. “We support a lot of clinical skills training for different clinical units,” she added. “Quite a bit of residency training, especially in the surgical specialties.”

Donors often contribute to multiple areas of study over many months, helping shape future medical care in real and lasting ways.

Many donors have no formal connection to the U of M. They come from across the state, motivated by a wish to help future generations. “It is very common to see somebody list in obituary notices that they donated their body to the University of Minnesota’s Anatomy Bequest Program,” McArthur said.

Behind each donation is a family who carries that decision forward. The Service of Gratitude, held in early June, is one way the program honors them. “This is not a small thing that we’re asking them to do,” McArthur said. “Donors are revered and honored within our program.”

First-year medical student Sey Lee was one of many students who volunteered at the event, greeting guests and helping those with mobility limitations. She also attended the service and the Legacy of Donation engagement session, where researchers and educators share how donations have advanced their work. “It meant a lot to me to be able to welcome donor families and hear more about their loved ones,” Lee said. “The service moved me to tears. It grounded me in the privilege and honor of being part of receiving donors' gifts towards my medical education, and I will carry this with me.”

The event includes a photo tribute and performances by health sciences students, many of whom also serve as ushers and stage crew. “We try to make it so each donor family has an encounter with at least one student,” McArthur said. “We want people to feel like they made a connection and not feel like their loved one is just one of many.”

For Rebecca Enestvedt Jano, whose husband, Issam Jano, a professor and researcher in quantum chemistry, was honored at this year’s service, that connection was deeply felt. “From beginning to end, it was a heart-warming event,” she wrote in a letter to the program. “My family feels totally thanked for my husband’s most precious gift. May many more continue to benefit from the Anatomy Bequest Program.”

For students like Sey, that connection is more than symbolic. It marks the beginning of a lifelong understanding of what it means to care for others. For the U of M, the Anatomy Bequest Program remains a cornerstone of education and a deeply human act of trust and generosity. That impact lives on in every student trained, every discovery made, and every life touched by those who chose to give.