Skip to main content

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 to complete and return.

For living donors, our Body Donation Packet for Living Donors has all the forms necessary for donation. You can request physical forms here. 

If a member of your family is deceased our Packet for Donating a Deceased Individual has the necessary forms.  

We appreciate your attention to the following:

  1. Unlike medical schools, we do not return remains to the family. The skeletal remains are a very important component to our research and teaching program.
  2. We reserve the right to decline donations of individuals who have some form of infectious disease such as HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis of any kind, or antibiotic resistant infections such as MRSA, even if contracted after donation is arranged. We will also have a weight limit, as yet to be determined. This will be based on the weight which our equipment will be able to handle.
  3. Donors with an infectious disease or who exceed the weight limit who still wish to donate may do so by choosing to have their remains cremated. Cremains provide an invaluable learning resource. People choosing this option should contact us prior to making arrangements. This allows us to work with the crematory involved to ensure the remains are not pulverized. The family must assume responsibility for the arrangement and cost of cremation.
  4. We also reserve the right to decline a donation if our facility is at capacity. In case of denial by the university, alternate final arrangements should be discussed by the donor and/or the family.
  5. The determination of acceptability shall be made by CMU at its sole discretion.
  6. We will arrange transportation to our facility if the deceased is located 75 miles from Grand Junction, CO. Outside the designated area, the Donor and/or the Donor's family must make arrangements for the transportation of the body to our facility and assume responsibility for any associated costs.
  7. We need to have signed donation documents or releases prior to transporting. This may be a faxed copy, but the original must be sent as soon as possible. Your donation paperwork will not be complete until the originals are returned. An authorization for final disposition needs to accompany the body.
  8. Pre-Donor paperwork needs to be returned to the Forensic Investigation Research Station at the time of completion in order for a file to be established. Changes of address or medical status should be sent to keep Donor files up-to-date.
  9. Pre-Donor paperwork needs two witnesses to verify your signature, but does not need to be notarized.
  10. We do not perform autopsies to determine cause of death on donations to our program. In Colorado, the coroner should determine that no autopsy is needed before the donation is released to 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. It is likely that neither number will be answered, but if you leave a message, we will return your call.  It is often faster to email us at [email protected].