Our Program
Educational Body Donation is a privately owned, whole-body donation program that fulfills a unique academic need in the Northwest. We are licensed and regulated by the Oregon Health Authority as a Non-transplant Anatomical Research Recovery Organization (NARRO). This licensing and regulation is required by Oregon statute because we are not directly affiliated with, or operated by, any one educational institution, but instead, serve many institutions in their needs for whole-body study as part of their curriculum. Although licensed as a NARRO, Educational Body Donation is not engaged in the practice of research, but is very specifically engaged in the practice of preparing human remains for curriculum-based, cadaveric use in a classroom setting only.
In considering a whole-body donation, it’s important to draw a distinction between “Education” and “Research”. Many programs attempt to gray these lines, allowing them to use a donor’s body for either of these efforts. We prefer to enhance this distinction and be transparent with our community. When selecting donation through Educational Body Donation, a donor is respectfully prepared and delivered to an educational institution. The donor resides at this institution until that course of study is complete. The donor’s entire remains are returned to us for cremation and then returned to their family, generally within 24 months. Each school pays a nominal fee to cover our expenses in facilitating this program. We are honored to fulfill this societal need to support our educational institutions.
Educational Body Donation only engages in Education-based body donation.
We do not engage in Research-based body donation.
EDUCATION
Whole-body donation programs that limit their focus to “education” are commonly curriculum-based in nature. The body serves an educational need in society and plays an important role in supporting the anatomy-education of doctors and other health care professionals. The program should disclose the intended use of a body and be willing to discuss it more specifically with a potential donor or the family.
RESEARCH
Whole-body donation programs that facilitate or perform “research”, generally dismember the body into parts that are used in various other research programs. These dismembered body parts are shipped to any agency, facility or group that pays for use of these parts. Once used, these body parts are generally not returned to the original donation program to be reunited with the rest of that body. The cremated remains that are returned to the family are generally only those remains that are not used for research. This research may, or may not, have any educational value and whole-body donation programs that engage in research are generally highly profitable.
To learn more about any programs intended use of a body, read their “Consent Form” very carefully.
