Bequest to Medical Science

Body bequests are made for either teaching or research purposes and are governed by the Human Tissue Act. In New Zealand, there are two medical schools that may accept human remains for research purposes. They are located in Auckland and Dunedin.

The bequest of a person's body must be made prior to death, and there are certain conditions that need to be met prior to the bequest being finally accepted upon death.

Following death, the body must be embalmed to exacting requirements within 24 hours. This means that the body is not available for a traditional funeral service. It is important to note also that bequests will only be accepted within certain metropolitan areas. This is due to the time and cost involved in transporting the body.

Medical schools will not accept the bequest if a person dies suddenly and is subject to an autopsy examination, or if the body is severely obese or suffering from conditions such as CJD.

Many families hold a memorial service following the death. These services follow a similar pattern to a funeral and will often have a photograph displayed instead of the casket, and include readings, tributes and music.

When a bequest is accepted, the body becomes the property of the licensed anatomist of the medical school. A person considering a bequest must take this into account, as it gives the school the ability to retain body samples and tissue.

Once the body has been taken to the medical school, it will generally be 12-18 months before it is used for teaching or research. There are now many more branches of medicine and science that use bodies or body parts, and the time delay will depend on the requirements at the time.

Ultimately, the remains are cremated and the ashes either scattered or, in some cases, returned to the family for disposal.