Bequeathal General Information
Bequeathal Program
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Kentucky law permits you to will your body to a medical or dental school. Four copies of a form are available for this purpose: One should be returned to the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology Office for our records, one should be kept by you, one by your next of kin or a responsible friend, and one should be given to your physician. It is advisable that your signature be witnessed by two people; particularly those who would be entitled to control the disposition of your remains.
Indiana residents should be informed that Indiana law also permits bequeathal to the University of Louisville.
A vital statistics form is also enclosed; please complete all questions and return this form along with the appropriate signature page. This information is used for filing the death certificate by the Coordinators of the Body Bequeathal Program and it is most important that information be accurate.
The funeral home can arrange to deliver your remains to the University. If no services are desired the University upon notification of our departmental office, will arrange transportation and assume responsibility for the final disposition of your body in an appropriate, professional manner (including multiple cremation). There is no charge for transportation within Jefferson, Clark and Floyd Counties. If you live outside of a 75 mile radius of Louisville, you will need to contact a funeral home or mortuary service in your community and arrange transportation. If there is no funeral home or mortuary service in your community or nearby, you may contact us and we can assist you in finding one, or arrange pre-paid transportation through our removal service. Burial of the cremains will be in the University cemetery. If you or your survivors desire services with your remains present, arrangement must be made through a private funeral home with no cost to the University. The funeral home must make special arrangements with us and must be prepared to follow our special instructions, otherwise your body will not be in a condition that can be utilized by our Program.
Remains bequeathed to the University are used primarily in regularly scheduled courses in the training of the Health Care Professionals and or including transplantation studies. Each body is preserved and held for such a course or courses, after which it is ordinarily disposed of by cremation and burial. However, should the donor desire that family or friends receive the cremains for private burial, the departmental office must be notified in advance, in writing by the donor, or within (10) days following death by family. In that event arrangements for transportation and burial of cremains must be made with a private funeral home at no cost to the University. If the cremains are requested to be returned to the family, the expense of special handling and the cost of an urn must be borne by the family.
In the event of your death, should an autopsy be required, your next of kin should be aware that the University might not be able to accept your body. In such cases the University can not accept any responsibility for disposing of your remains. Other circumstances, such as but not limited to infectious diseases, mutilation, gross obesity, organ donation, or decomposition may require us to refuse your body. Therefore, your next of kin should be made aware of this possibility. Such circumstances must be reported to the Bequeathal Program at the time of death.
For further information, call Mr. Steve Anderson or Mr. Troy Nukes in the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology on weekdays between the hours of 7:30 am and 5:00 pm. Also contact Mr. Anderson or Mr. Nukes between these hours to report the death of persons willing their bodies to the University. At night or on weekends and holidays when our office cannot be reached, Nunnelley Funeral Home should be notified for this purpose. Nunnelley Funeral Home acts as our after-hours coordinator transporting agency, bringing the body directly to the Health Sciences Center. When calling you must notify them that your are part of the Bequeathal Program. If family, friends, or the estate have the desire to give a donation to the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology in memory of the deceased, it will be appreciated and used to defray expenses of the Body Bequeathal Program.
