Body donation
Body donation options
Currently, two universities in Hong Kong accept body donations, mainly for medical education, research, and training purposes. These are the “Silent Teacher” Body Donation Programme of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the “Great Body Teacher” Body Donation Programme of the University of Hong Kong. The bodies of body donors are generally used for the following purposes in medical schools:
- Human anatomy teaching for medical students
- Medical research, surgery, or healthcare training
- Specimen teaching, digital education, and research
Understanding the details of body donation at medical schools
Both medical schools have websites explaining the details of their body donation programmes. They have similar purposes in medical education and research, but their implementation details differ. Body donors and their families can inquire by phone or email to understand and choose the most suitable programme for them.
Chinese University of Hong Kong “Silent Teacher” Body Donation Programme
https://bodydonation.sbs.cuhk.edu.hk/
University of Hong Kong “Great Body Teacher” Body Donation Programme
Considerations for choosing a body donation programme
Those who intend to donate their body can register for the body donation programmes of both medical schools and even register for the Centralized Organ Donation Register (CODR) at the same time. They should inform their immediate family members or the main contact person for their funeral arrangements about their donation preferences, so that their body can be donated to the most suitable medical school at the time. General considerations include:
- Understanding the measures taken by medical schools to respect the deceased and their families;
- The level of detail in handling inquiries and follow-up donation procedures;
- The duration of the body’s stay in the medical school for teaching purposes;
- The option to choose the teaching mode for donation registration and post-mortem donation;
- The level of family involvement in the transportation of the body and during cremation; and
- Arrangements for ashes after teaching and cremation
Arrangements by family members after the donor’s death
After the body donor’s death, the family members (or main contact person) need to proactively notify the medical school. The medical school will promptly respond to the notification upon learning the cause of death as indicated in the Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (Form 18) and understanding whether the body condition is suitable or if the mortuary space is saturated. This allows the deceased’s funeral arrangements to be made according to the situation.