WHO CAN DONATE?
Under the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of North Carolina subject to general statutes:
§130A-412.6
Any competent person 18 years or older can will his or her body to High Point University’s Willed Body Program by completing a Document of Gift by Individual Self form and submitting it to High Point University’s Willed Body Program.
§130A-412.11
Any person legally authorized to make an anatomical gift of a decedent’s body* can donate the body of their loved one to High Point University’s Willed Body Program by completing a Document of Gift by Legally Authorized Person and submitting it to High Point University’s Willed Body Program.
There is no upper age limit for donors wishing to donate.
* N.C.G.S. § 130A-412.11 provides for the following classes of persons to donate a body for educational purposes in order of priority listed:
(1) An agent of the decedent to the extent authorized under a power of attorney for health care or other record who could have made such a donation during the deceased’s life;
(2) The spouse of the decedent;
(3) Adult children of the decedent;
(4) Parents of the decedent;
(5) Adult siblings of the decedent
(6) Adult grandchildren of the decedent;
(7) Grandparents of the decedent;
(8) An adult who exhibited special care and concern for the decedent;
(9) The persons who were acting as the guardians of the person of the decedent at the time of death; and
(10) any person having the authority to dispose of the decedent’s body.
Please click the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of North Carolina link to read the entire Act.
CRITERIA TO BE A DONOR.
High Point University’s Willed Body Program is a whole-body donation program. Therefore, organ and tissue donation, other than the donation of eyes for corneal transplantation, will make a donor unsuitable for our program.
To become a donor, an individual must not carry any infectious communicable disease, such as but not limited to;
- Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C
- HIV/AIDS
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
- Tuberculosis
- MRSA
- Syphilis
- COVID-19
The Willed Body Program will try to accept all eligible deceased individuals into our program at their time of death. However, the potential donation may be declined if the deceased has any of the following;
- Extreme emaciation or obesity
- Grade 3 ascites or Grade 3 edema in the extremities
- Severe jaundice
- Sepsis
- Large stage 3 or above pressure sores
- Extensive burns or trauma from death
- Unhealed large surgical incisions or deep wounds
- Advanced decomposition of the body
- Autopsy by Medical Examiner
UPDATE FOR COVID-19: At this time, the Willed Body Program will not accept any individuals at death that are currently positive for COVID-19 to protect its staff and students. The program will consider a potential donor that has tested positive in the past and is out of the CDC recommended quarantine period or has had a negative test within ten days from the time of death. If you have questions, please call 336-841-LIFE (5433) to talk with a team member.
High Point University reserves the right, at any time, to decline a donation that does not meet the criteria for acceptance into the Willed Body Program. The final decision to accept a gift is at the sole discretion of the Willed Body Program.
High Point University advises donors or their agents to have alternative arrangements should a potential donor not meet the criteria of our program upon death.
THE COST TO DONATE.
High Point University’s Willed Body Program is committed to making the process of donating stress-free for you and your family. For this reason, we will cover the cost of the following;
- Transportation (within 300 miles*) to our on-campus Care Center
- Filing of the death certificate and burial transit permit
- Preparation for donation and cremation upon completion
- Interring cremated remains in the Willed Body Program’s Memorial Garden
- Scattering cremated remains at sea in the Atlantic Ocean
- Returning cremated remains in an urn by certified mail through the United States Postal Service
*If death occurs outside of a 300-mile radius of High Point University, High Point, North Carolina, the program reserves the right to:
- Accepta gift after confirming that the designated representative(s) will be financially responsible for any additional mileage needed to secure the transportation to High Point University.
- Arrange for a gift to be used by another program closer to the place of death.
- Decline to accept a gift.
HOW WILL A GIFT BE USED?
High Point University’s Willed Body Program strongly believes in the numerous medical advancements and patient care benefits that develop from the generous gift of whole-body donation. For this reason, we feel that higher education should never stop but continue throughout one’s life. Below are some examples of how the gift of donation can impact our students and our health sciences community.
- Educating our graduate students in Athletic Training, Physician Assistant Studies, and Physical Therapy, and our undergraduate Advanced Anatomy students with exceptional knowledge and dynamic understanding of the human body.
- Advancing new techniques or devices for sustainable patient health care by our local healthcare community of doctors, nurses, physicians, physician assistants, and other medical professionals.
- Developing cutting-edge medical training for our emergency responders, military professionals and more.
HOW LONG WILL THE WILLED BODY PROGRAM RETAIN A GIFT?
Generally, the program may retain a donor for three weeks to two years before cremation occurs and final disposition.
FOLLOWING STUDIES.
Upon completion of studies, High Point University will transport donors to a locally contracted crematory licensed to operate under state law for cremation.
All donors are individually cremated.
Following the return of cremated remains from the contracted crematory, the Willed Body Program will review the signed Document of Gift and follow instructions to either:
RETURN the cremated remains to the appointed representative(s), in an urn, in the order determined by the donor in the document of gift.
*INTER the cremated remains in High Point University’s Willed Body Program Memorial Garden located at High Point University.
SCATTER the cremated remains at sea in the Atlantic Ocean.
*Currently, the Memorial Garden has not been established and will be constructed at a future date to be announced.
BECOME A DONOR.
To register for anatomical donation, a donor, or legally authorized person(s) of a donor, must complete a Document of Gift form signed by the donor or legally authorized person(s) and two witnesses in the presence of each other. The Willed Body Program also requires that a donor or legally authorized person(s) complete a Vital Statistics Worksheet and Medical and Social History Worksheet. In addition, the Willed Body Program advises all potential donors to read the Resource Guide prior to completing any forms.
You can obtain the required forms by calling our office at 336-841-LIFE (5433), filling out a Request Form and we will mail them to you, or clicking on the links below to download and print on your own.
DONATION BY INDIVIDUAL SELF or HCPOA (Living Donation)
DONATION BY LEGALLY AUTHORIZED PERSON (At Death Donation)
RESOURCE GUIDE
All forms must be completed and delivered to:
High Point University
Congdon School of Health Sciences
Willed Body Program-D71
One University Parkway, High Point, North Carolina 27268-0001
