How Much Does It Cost To Donate Your Body To Science?
Published on September 25, 2019 | Last Modified on March 9, 2020
For the past several years, a growing number of people are considering body donation as an alternative end-of-life option. Though numbers are unconfirmed, experts from Harvard University believe that about 20,000 Americans sign up to be whole-body donors every year.
Although this might seem a lot, body donors are still very few compared to organ donors. One reason for this is the belief that body donation can be expensive.
On the contrary, there are no direct costs for donating your body to science. In fact, it can even save you and your family from paying steep funeral costs. That’s because most body donation institutions like DonorCure take care of all donation related expenses.
What Body Donation-Related Expenses Do DonorCure Cover?
If you register to become a donor with us and we accept your donation, DonorCure will take care of the following donation-related expenses:
Transportation
Once we receive notification of a donor’s death, we’ll immediately arrange for the body’s transportation to our facility. All expenses related to this shall be on our account. To ensure that all transportation expenses are covered, family members and caregivers are advised not to contact a funeral home or a funeral director themselves at the time of death.
Cremation
At the completion of the donation process, DonorCure will then arrange for a cremation. Donors and family members don’t have to pay anything for this saving them around $800 to $1,500 in cremation costs. Cremated remains will be placed in a standard container and will either be returned to the family or scattered at sea depending on the donor’s wishes.
Death Certificate
We’ll also pay for all costs related to securing a certified copy of the donor’s death certificate.
Disposal of the Cremains
Upon registration, DonorCure body donors are asked whether they prefer to have their remains returned to the family or scattered at sea. Whichever they choose, we will honor their wishes and cover all costs related thereto.
Cremated remains are usually returned to the family within 8 to 12 weeks. They can hold their own memorial ceremony or scatter the ashes at sea themselves. The cost of which shall be on the family’s account.
However, keep in mind that other anatomical donation institutions have a limited budget and will not cover all the expenses. When the expenditures reached the limit, the donor’s family has to shoulder the remaining costs. So it’s best to clear this up with the institution you’re planning to donate your body to before signing anything.
If you have questions and inquiries about how to donate your body to science, you can visit our homepage or call us at Toll-Free (800) 928-8233. We accept donations from within the continental United States.
About The Authors
Judy Ponio and Franchette Agatha Jardin are professional bloggers for DonorCure.com. They collaborated for this article and for many others. This dynamic duo has combined experience of decades. Visit their profiles to see more of their work.
