Body Donation Program

The School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide operates a central mortuary facility on behalf of the Universities in South Australia for the acceptance of all bodies donated to science and controls the transfer of anatomical resources to licensed schools of anatomy within the State and Commonwealth in support of teaching, training, scientific studies and research.

Donating your body to science is one of the greatest gifts one can give to make a lasting contribution to the education and training of our current & future health professionals and to advance science through research. Historically, South Australians have been most generous in their support of our Body Donation Program and we consistently have one of the highest donation rates per capita in Australasia.

The opportunity to be able to dissect the human body is a privilege not available in many parts of the world and this is reflected through the quality of our graduates and the world class training and research conducted within the Universities in South Australia.

The pdf file download below will provide you and your family with detailed answers to the most common questions we are asked about the donation of one's body to science. It also contains the most important information for a prospective donor and their family to understand, in order to make the decision to go ahead with the donation.

We have chosen to be as open and frank as possible in our answers and whilst you may find some of the information confronting, it is our responsibility to ensure that you understand what will happen when you donate. By law, the Universities must ensure that your consent is "FULLY INFORMED".

Please take the time to read and understand the information and remember, if you do not understand any of the information or if you decide for any reason that body donation is not right for you, DO NOT SIGN THE CONSENT FORMS.

If you have any other queries about any of the information contained within, please contact the School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide (8303 5998) and one of our staff will be happy to organise a time to call back and talk with you further.