The donation of a person's body after death is a tremendous gift. We are grateful to everyone who expresses an interest in body donation. Information about the donor program is provided below, including links to documents for Donors or their next-of-kin to complete and return.
Donation Forms
Our Body Donation Packet for Living Donors contains all of the forms necessary for donation. You can request physical forms here.
If you are next of kin or a legal representative and you would like to pursue donation, the Packet for Donating a Deceased Individual contains all of the forms necessary for donation.
We appreciate your attention to the following:
1. The determination of donor acceptance shall be made by CMU in its sole discretion.
2. Unlike medical schools, we do not return remains to the family. Skeletal remains are curated in the FIRS human osteology collection.The collection is a very important component to our research and teaching program and will benefit CMU students for generations to come.
3. We will arrange transportation to our facility if the deceased is located within 75 miles of Grand Junction, CO. Outside of the designated area, the Donor and/or the Donor’s family must make arrangements for transportation of the body to our facility and assume responsibility for any associated costs.
4. We reserve the right to decline donations of individuals who carry infectious disease such as HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis of any kind, or antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA.
Our program cannot accept embalmed bodies. Our program does accept autopsied bodies.
5. Donors with an infectious disease who still wish to donate may do so by choosing to have their remains cremated. A collection of cremated remains provides an invaluable learning resource and reference tool in forensic analysis. If you choose this option, please contact us prior to making arrangements with a crematorium. This allows us to work with the crematory involved to ensure that the remains are not pulverized. The family must assume responsibility for the arrangement and cost of cremation.
6. We require submission of signed donation documents prior to transport. This may be a faxed copy, but the original must be sent as soon as possible. Your donation will not be complete until original paperwork is returned. An authorization for final disposition must accompany the body.
7. We do not perform autopsies to determine cause or manner of death. By Colorado State Law, the Coroner must release the decedent before the donation can be accepted into our program.
Please read the packet in its entirety and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have at 970.248.1219 or email [email protected].