Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Home / General / You Want to Donate Your Body to Science, Now What?

You Want to Donate Your Body to Science, Now What?

by

“You Want to Donate Your Body to Science, Now What?” by Attorney Laura Curry (Audio)

An important aspect of estate planning is deciding wishes for your last remains which can include donating your body to science. If you want to donate your body to science the Maryland Department of Health offers the State Anatomy Board Body Donation Program to competent Maryland residents 18 or older. Using this program, you donate your full body to advance medical education and research.

To participate in Maryland’s body donation program, you must complete the program’s form and mail it to the State Anatomy Board (“Board”) via U.S. Mail with your original signature. Simply stating on your Living Will or Advanced Directive that you want to “donate your body to science” is considered a general intent, and is insufficient for the Board to accept your body for donation.

You need to be aware that before you fill out and submit the program’s form, you must:

  • be a Maryland resident
  • have the capacity to agree to donate your body upon acceptance
  • understand that the donation is for a full-body donation

The form cannot be completed by your next of kin, a guardian, an agent under a power of attorney, or any other person acting on behalf of another person. The form must be completed by you and must be accepted by the Board before you die. If the Board accepts you into the program you will receive an acknowledgment letter and donor card for you to keep in your wallet. You can cancel your participation in the program at any time.

Once you pass away, the Board has the legal and exclusive right to the custody, control, and use of your body for study. The Board is informed of your death by the nursing home, hospital, or doctor in attendance at your death. If there is no attending physician when you pass away, the local police department should be contacted immediately. If you die in Maryland, the Board pays for the expenses associated with transportation, preparation, eventual cremation, and state-provided disposition of your body. If you die outside of Maryland, your loved ones will be responsible for the cost of transporting your body back into Maryland, along with the fees for the preparation of your accompanying death certificate. Once you have been transported to the closest funeral home inside the Maryland border, the Board will take possession of your body and move it to their facility.

Although you may have been accepted into the Board’s program during your life, at the time of your death your body must still meet the conditions of acceptance stipulated by the Board. Provided your body meets the requirements, the Board will ensure your body is delivered to the facility that will use it for the advancement of medical education and/or research. Once your body has been used, it will be returned to the Board and cremated. It can take up to two years before your body is cremated after donation. Your ashes can either be released to a person that you designate with the Board or the ashes can be interred in a dedicated gravesite currently located in Sykesville.

Although there can be no funeral service with a body at the time of your death, your family can have a memorial service for you, or they can attend the Board’s annual memorial service for all donors. Additionally, your family could wait until your ashes are released by the Board.

Many people are concerned that if they are donating their full body to the Board’s program, they cannot also be organ donors. That is not true. Under the Board’s program, you can also donate to an organ bank program, such as through the driver’s license organ donation election program. However, the authority for whether or not to permit organ donation rests with the Board, since it has custody and control of your body.

If you are not a Maryland resident or move outside of Maryland, there are medical programs in every state across the United States and you can find a medical program near you.

Planning for your last remains is a difficult aspect of estate planning, however doing so puts you in control of options that align with your goals and values. Don’t forget to review this part of your plan annually, because your wishes may change throughout your lifetime. An estate planning attorney at Sinclair Prosser Gasior can help ensure your plan meets all necessary requirements from the State of Maryland so that your wishes are carried out correctly. Contact us today.

Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Latest posts by Sinclair Prosser Gasior (see all)