Why choose whole body donation?
Many Canadians today are becoming much more open to the option of donating their body to science. This openness about what death means brings with it new values, preferences, and opinions that are changing traditions and creating funeral alternatives. People want alternatives to funeral arrangements and choices concerning the final disposition of their bodies.
Whole body donation to science is currently the fastest growing trend among funeral alternatives. People are seeking alternatives to the traditional burial or cremation options. The option of body donation gives individuals a real way to support medical advances that impact the lives of future generations, and thus a death can be seen as giving value to the advancement of science and providing a ‘gift’ of life.
How to enroll in a whole body donation program?
In Canada, you can donate your body to science by bequeathing your body to one of the medical Universities across the Provinces. There are around 20 Medical Schools in Canada that accept anatomical donations. This is a direct means by which to support the advancement and development of medical science and training, which ultimately saves lives. The medical University in your Province ordinarily covers all costs for collecting a donated body, the cremation of remains, and the return of cremated remains to the family, although arrangements may vary, so it is advisable to check directly with the Medical School in question.
The University of British Columbia call it a “Unique Contribution”, and it is increasingly growing in popularity, especially with the baby boom generation. What is it? Whole Body Donation, otherwise known as leaving one’s body to science, it has also been referred to as “The Gift of Life”.
Body donation can be made at the time of death, or a bequeathal can be made as part of a last will and testament. Enrolling in a Body Donation programme can be a way of ‘gifting life’, and also removes the burden of making this decision from loved ones’ at a time of loss.
Refer to the table below for contact information on your nearest Body Donation Program.
| University of Alberta – Division of Anatomy 5.01 Medical Sciences Edmonton, AB T6G 2H7 780-492-2628 anatomy@ualberta.ca | University of Calgary – Health Sciences Centre B723, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1 403-220-6895 anatomy@ucalgary.ca |
| University of British Columbia – Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences Faculty of Medicine 2350 Health Sciences Mall Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3 604-822-2578 body.program@ubc.ca | University of Manitoba – Human Anatomy & Cell Science 130 Basic Medical Science Building, 745 Bannatyne Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3E 0J9 204-789-3652 Service_After_Death@umanitoba.ca |
| Dalhousie University – Department of Medical Neuroscience Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, Rm. 13-B1 5850 College Street, PO Box 15000 Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 902-494-6850 humandonationprogram@dal.ca | University of Newfoundland – Faculty of Medicine Rm. 2830A, HSC St. John’s, NL, A1B 3V6 709-864-3360 patricia.cousins@med.mun.ca |
| CMCC Department of Anatomy Body Donation Program 6100 Leslie Street Toronto, ON M2H 3J1 416-482-2340 | McMaster University – Education Program in Anatomy 1280 Main St. West, HSC 1R1, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1 905-525-9140 anatprg@mcmaster.ca |
| Queen’s University – Human Body Donor Program Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Botterell Hall Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 613-533-2600 | University of Ottawa – Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy Faculty of Medicine 451 Smyth Rd., RGN 2204 Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5 888-221-2993 anatomy@uottawa.ca |
| Human Anatomy Program – Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences Building 70, University of Guelph Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 519-824-4120 anatomy@uoguelph.ca | Division of Anatomy – University of Toronto Room 1183, 1 King’s College Circle Toronto, ON M5S 1A8 416-978-2692 willedbodyprogram@utoronto.ca |
| University of Western Ontario – Anatomy and Cell Biology Medical Sciences Building, Rm 443 London, ON N6A 3K7 519-661-2111 ext. 86476 jennifer.devlin@schulich.uwo.ca | University of Waterloo – AHS 3684 200 University Ave West Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 519-888-4567, ext. 43717 tamara.maciel@uwaterloo.ca |
| Northern Ontario School of Medicine Thunder Bay, ON Telephone: 807-766-7387 | Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning 205 Humber College Blvd Etobicoke, ON M9W 5L 416-675-6622 |
| McGill University – Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology 3640 University Street Strathcona Anatomy Building Montreal, QC, H3A 0C7 514-398-2575 joseph.p.dube@mcgill.ca. | Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières – Département Anatomie 3351, boul. des Forges C.P. 500 Trois-Rivières, QC G9A 5H7 819-376-5011 poste 3990 dondecorps@uqtr.ca |
| Collège de Rosemont Marie-Ève Turcotte Technicienne en thanatologie Montréal, QC H1X 2S9 514-376-1620, poste 7328 Courriel | University of Saskatchewan – Department of Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacology GA20-107 Wiggins Rd Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5 306-966-4075 appadmin@usask.ca |
