Body donation
Encyclopedia
Body donation is the donation of the whole body
after death
for medical research and education. For years, only medical schools accepted whole bodies for donation, but now private programs also accept donors.
Body donation is useful for understanding the human body and for advancing science. Medical schools use whole embalmed bodies to teach anatomy to medical students. These organizations will often cover the cost of cremation or burial once the cadaver
has served its medical purpose and is returned to the family for interment. Any person wishing to donate their body may be required, but not always, to make prior arrangements with the local medical school, university, or body donation program before death. Individuals may request a consent form, and will be supplied information about policies and procedures that will take place after the potential donor
is deceased.
Each country may have differing regulations surrounding the donation of the body or body parts.
under the auspices of the Human Tissue Act 2004
. The HTA licenses and inspects establishments, such as medical schools, which teach anatomy using donated bodies. Under the Human Tissue Act, written consent must be given prior to death; consent cannot be given by anyone else after death.
Body donation is not regulated through licensure and inspection by the federal government and most states. The legal right for an individual to choose body donation is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
which has been largely adopted by most states. Laws relating to the transportation and disposition of human bodies apply.
The American Association of Tissue Banks
(AATB) provides accreditation to non-transplant tissue bank research and education programs to establish that the level of medical, technical and administrative performance meets or exceeds the standards set by the AATB. Whole body donation and non-transplant tissue banking remains an industry with limited regulation, and while it is not a legal requirement, accreditation allows for individuals choosing to donate their body to medical research or education programs to choose a program with the highest quality standards.
The American Medical Education and Research Association (AMERA) is a peer-recognized national accrediting body in the United States to provide accreditation to organizations using standards developed solely for non-transplant organizations. This includes whole body donor organizations, university anatomical programs, bio-repository programs and end users of human tissue. AMERA encourages the industry to become accredited and involved in establishing standards that are relevant to non-clinical tissue organizations.
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
after death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
for medical research and education. For years, only medical schools accepted whole bodies for donation, but now private programs also accept donors.
Body donation is useful for understanding the human body and for advancing science. Medical schools use whole embalmed bodies to teach anatomy to medical students. These organizations will often cover the cost of cremation or burial once the cadaver
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
has served its medical purpose and is returned to the family for interment. Any person wishing to donate their body may be required, but not always, to make prior arrangements with the local medical school, university, or body donation program before death. Individuals may request a consent form, and will be supplied information about policies and procedures that will take place after the potential donor
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
is deceased.
Each country may have differing regulations surrounding the donation of the body or body parts.
United Kingdom
Body donation in the UK is governed by the Human Tissue AuthorityHuman Tissue Authority
The Human Tissue Authority is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom that regulates the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue for a number of scheduled purposes such as research, transplantation, and education and training.It was created by the Human...
under the auspices of the Human Tissue Act 2004
Human Tissue Act 2004
The Human Tissue Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which consolidated previous legislation and created the Human Tissue Authority to "regulate the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue."...
. The HTA licenses and inspects establishments, such as medical schools, which teach anatomy using donated bodies. Under the Human Tissue Act, written consent must be given prior to death; consent cannot be given by anyone else after death.
United States
Only the legal next-of-kin of the deceased can provide the necessary consent for donation if the donor did not provide it to the specific accepting program prior to death.Body donation is not regulated through licensure and inspection by the federal government and most states. The legal right for an individual to choose body donation is governed by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act , and its periodic revisions, is one of the Uniform Acts drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in the United States with the intention of harmonizing state laws in force in the states.UAGA governs organ donations for the purpose...
which has been largely adopted by most states. Laws relating to the transportation and disposition of human bodies apply.
The American Association of Tissue Banks
American Association of Tissue Banks
The American Association of Tissue Banks ; a transplant trade organization that is dedicated to ensuring that human tissues intended for transplantation are safe and free of infectious disease, of uniform high quality, and available in quantities sufficient to meet national needs.The AATB provides...
(AATB) provides accreditation to non-transplant tissue bank research and education programs to establish that the level of medical, technical and administrative performance meets or exceeds the standards set by the AATB. Whole body donation and non-transplant tissue banking remains an industry with limited regulation, and while it is not a legal requirement, accreditation allows for individuals choosing to donate their body to medical research or education programs to choose a program with the highest quality standards.
The American Medical Education and Research Association (AMERA) is a peer-recognized national accrediting body in the United States to provide accreditation to organizations using standards developed solely for non-transplant organizations. This includes whole body donor organizations, university anatomical programs, bio-repository programs and end users of human tissue. AMERA encourages the industry to become accredited and involved in establishing standards that are relevant to non-clinical tissue organizations.