How to Donate Your Full Body in California

Body donations in California benefit medical students and researchers as they train. If you want to donate your body to science after your death, you can donate to any medical school or hospital in the state. The process of donating your body requires filling out paperwork and informing your loved ones that your body will not be available for a funeral once your death occurs.

Instructions

• 1

  Learn whether or not you are even eligible to become a body donor in California. Certain medical conditions, such as HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, prevent donors from being able to donate their bodies. Bodies weighing more than 250 lbs. are not accepted as donor bodies.

• 2

  Contact the school or medical center to which you want to donate your body to obtain the correct application and forms.

• 3

  Complete the application form and send it back to the medical center or school of your choice with the signatures of two witnesses. Witnesses must be at least 21 years of age and only one may be a relative. The other must be a disinterested party -- which means she has no legal ties or obligations to you. If your form is not filled out in its entirety, your application will be denied, if accepted, you will receive a donor card to carry with you in your wallet.