Help Shape the Future of Medicine By Becoming a Body Donor
MedCure connects people wanting to donate their bodies to science – whole body donors – with the physicians and anatomical researchers who are uncovering tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs.
Donating Your Body to Science
Advancing the Science of Medicine with a Priceless, No Cost Option
Whole body donation is essential to our understanding of the human body and the development of new medical treatments. At MedCure, we help donors and their families connect with the physicians, surgeons, and researchers who are continuing this vital work. Thanks to their generosity and selflessness, we are able to live longer, healthier lives.
MedCure honors our donors by covering all expenses related to the donation process, including transportation, cremation, and a certified copy of the death certificate. We can accommodate the family’s wishes for the disposition of cremated remains, whether returned to them or placed in an ossuary. By request, we can also provide a family letter that shares information on how the donor contributed to medical science.
Connect with Us
Donation Coordinators are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions and assist you with the donation process. Whether you are registering your future intent to be a body donor, you are currently receiving hospice care, or if your loved one has already passed, we can guide you through every step.
How It Works
Contact MedCure
We are available 24 hours a day to conduct a donor eligibility screening or to verify a donor pre-registration is on file.
Transportation
MedCure makes all of the transportation arrangements from the place of passing to one of our five US facilities at no cost to the donor or their caregivers.
Donor Matching
Donors are matched to institutions or projects according to medical history and current research needs. Family letters provide details on request.
Final Arrangements
Cremated remains are returned to the family within 5 months or may be placed in an ossuary. A certified death certificate is provided to the family or estate.
“I have always wanted to ‘give back’ and this is the perfect way. I was brought into this world via medical science and it is my choice to leave that way. MedCure and their representatives handled both my parents in the most kind and professional manner. They made me feel comfortable with my decisions and had such compassion for all my thoughts and questions.”
Betty Smith
Family Caregivers
MedCure offers a pre-screening program for patients who are receiving hospice care or who have been given a life expectancy of 6 months or less. While it isn’t necessary for your loved one to complete the screening ahead of time, it does make the call to MedCure at the time of passing much easier on the family. You can download our Hospice Patient Registry Kit to help guide you through each step of the process.
Registering Close To Passing
A donor's legal next of kin or Healthcare Power of Attorney can legally assist in arranging for body donation. A full and complete copy of the Healthcare Power of Attorney documents must be submitted with the body donation forms.
Contact MedCure To Start
A Donation Coordinator will ask screening questions to determine if an individual meets certain medical research criteria necessary for body donation.
Submit Body Donation Forms
Donation forms are available HERE. Completed documentation can be emailed to donate@medcure.org or faxed to 503-257-9101.
Death Has Occured
MedCure should be called immediately to determine or review the donor's eligibility screening and to begin making transportation arrangements.
Hospice, Social Worker & Professional Caregivers: Click here for more information.
Body Donor Registry
If you or your loved one is close to passing, or if your loved one has just passed, please bypass pre-registry and call MedCure right away.
Registering for the Future
If you would like to register your intent to donate your body to science, please complete the pre-registry form and click the SEND button. After you register, we will mail you a welcome kit with additional information within two to three weeks. This kit explains the body donation process and includes a donor card for your wallet.
Our whole body donation program is open to most people, but there are some eligibility requirements. Please have a backup plan in case you are not eligible. See our eligibility notice below for more information.
Finally, please make sure you talk to your loved ones about your wish to donate. Donating yourself or a family member is a very personal decision, but one that should be shared with others who might be involved in the process.
If Your Loved One Has Passed
MedCure is your first call at the time of passing and will work with a local funeral home on your behalf. After donation, partial cremated remains will be returned to the family or may be placed in an ossuary. By request, MedCure will also send a family letter notifying family members how you or your loved one contributed to medical science.
Eligibility Notice
Most people who wish to donate can. There is no upper age limit and most disease processes are acceptable. In an effort to ensure that donations will ultimately be matched with medical professionals, certain standard acceptance criteria must be met at the time of passing.
The most common reasons for decline are a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B or C, a history of intravenous (IV) drug use, recent incarceration or institutionalization, and being severely over or under weight at the time of death.
MedCure accepts donors from all states within the continental United States except Minnesota and North Dakota.