Willed Body Program

Authority to Receive Donated Bodies (500)

1. The donation of human remains is provided for by State Statutes 63 O.S.2201-2209 (Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of Oklahoma). This act was approved by the State Legislature in 1969.
2. In 1989, the State Legislature approved H.B. 1235 which requires that any donee receiving a whole body donation from any source shall have approval of the State Anatomical Board prior to receiving such donation.

• Policy Date: OK Statutes 1969
• Approved By: Oklahoma State Legislature
• Date Revised: 6/12/14
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Document of Donation Forms (501)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board.

1. The donation of human remains is provided for by State Statutes 63 O.S. 2201-2209 (Uniform Anatomical Gift Act). In 1989, The State Anatomical Board was given authority to oversee over all whole body donations.
2.  Individuals may request forms in writing, or by telephone.
3. The donation form must be signed by the individual in the presence of two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.
4. When the completed form is received an acknowledgement letter and wallet size identification card will be sent to the individual.
5. The donor's name is entered into the computer (DonorList1.accdb) and the form is filed pending death of the individual. These are considered "Willed" bodies.
6. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act allows the donation of a body, at death, by the next of kin (but not if there is evidence that the deceased did not want to donate). The body is offered to the Willed Body Program, and if it is accepted forms are mailed to the next of kin. These are considered "Donated" bodies.
7. Signing a donation form is not a binding contract and the body may or may not be accepted.
8. A body may not be accepted if the deceased:
   1. is obese;
   2. had/has hepatitis A, B, C, or TB;
   3. is HIV positive, has AIDS, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or Kuru;
   4. has any other highly contagious/infectious disease which would be a threat to the users;
   5. has been autopsied;
   6. is decomposing and/or has bed sores;
   7. has amputations;
   8. has recent unhealed surgeries or open wounds;
   9. if skin and/or bone have been donated to another program; or
   10. if aspirated by a funeral home prior to embalming.

Additional COVID-19 Screening Criteria

The Willed Body Program, under the authority of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and acting as an Agent of the Oklahoma State Anatomical Board, shall be responsible for screening all donors for COVID-19 at the time of death and prior to acceptance. This process will be used and donors must be able to pass all risk assessment questions.

Exclusion Criteria Questions

1. Within 28 days of death has the potential donor tested positive for the COVID-19 (Coronavirus)?
   1. If they have tested positive for COVID-19 the donation is denied.
2. Within 28 days of death has the potential donor traveled?
   1. If traveled to known CDC travel advisory areas within 28 days of death, the donation is denied.
3. Within 28 days of death has the potential donor come in close contact with a person or persons who have traveled?
   1. If close contact person or persons traveled to known CDC travel advisory areas within 28 days of death, the donation is denied.
4. Within 28 days of death has the potential donor come in close contact with a person or persons who have been confirmed with the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infection?
   1. If close contact person or persons within 28 days of death, the donation is denied.
5. Within 28 days of death, has the potential donor experienced a fever with severe acute lower respiratory illness (e.g., pneumonia, ARDS) without alternative explanatory acceptable cause and without a negative SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test evaluation.
   1. If they have been tested for COVID-19 and the test result is negative, we may accept the donation if a copy of the report is provided.

• Policy Date: OK Statutes 1969
• Approved By: State Anatomical Board; Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/22/21
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Notification of Death (502)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board.

1. When notified of the death of a donor, the Willed Body Program arranges for pick up, transportation, and embalming. These services are performed by the licensed embalming/transportation service (mortuary service) to whom the Willed Body Program issues an annual standing purchase order for services (following the OUHSC bid process). The embalming fluid is provided by the Willed Body Program. If necessary, a local funeral home may be asked to perform an arterial embalming before the embalming service obtains the body. Reasonable embalming charges are paid to funeral homes by the Willed Body Program.
2. The Willed Body Program does not accept out-of-state donors.
3. The Willed Body Program cannot pay any charges associated with a funeral service or viewing and cannot provide viewing facilities.
4. Specific Procedures to follow when notified of a death:
   
   ​Ensure there is a donation form on file signed by the deceased.
   1. Confirm date, time of death, cause of death, name, address of next of kin, and determine the location of the body and when the body can be picked up. Confirm that the next of kin is ready for the body to be picked up.
   2. If the body does not meet requirements, obtain authorization from the Willed Body Program director before proceeding.
   3. The family may have a funeral service with the body present if the service is scheduled quickly (1-2 days). Arterial embalming must be performed by a local funeral home -- the secondary embalming and cavity treatment will be done by the contracted mortuary service when they receive the body. The family must pay all funeral related expenses. A memorial service without the body present is suggested.
   4. If death occurs within the Oklahoma City or Tulsa areas, Willed Body Program personnel will call the contracted mortuary service to pick up and embalm the body. If death occurs outside the Oklahoma City area and the body can be obtained and embalmed within four hours the contracted mortuary service will obtain the body. If this is not possible Willed Body Program staff or the contracted mortuary service will ask a local funeral home to do the arterial embalming.
   5. The Willed Body Program prepares the cremation and out of state transport permit forms using the online application at www.permits.ocme.ok.gov. Once submitted, a notification of receipt is sent to the wbp@ouhsc.edu email address. Once the permits are completed by the Medical Examiner (ME), an email is sent to wbp@ouhsc.edu with a .pdf file of the completed permits, which includes the cause of death and permit number. The .pdf files are printed and placed in the donor's file. 
   6. The ME adds the medical portion to the ROVER system to begin the death certificate process. The Willed Body Program is responsible for completing the personal data and filing the death certificate in ROVER. 

• Policy Date: 1980
• Approved By: Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/22/21
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Procedures for Receiving Cadavers (503)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board. Employees are to observe Universal Precautions to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).

1. Procedures for Receiving Fixed (embalmed) Cadavers
   1. After embalming, the contracted mortuary service will clean the body, place ID tags on the extremities, place the body in a plastic bag, and deliver it to the Basic Sciences Education Building (BSEB) morgue (room 17).
   2. The body will be placed on a tray inside the cold room.
   3. The morgue manager will check the ID numbers, place the body on the next available rack/inventory location, enter the location in the Inventory spreadsheet, and report the location to the Willed Body Program office. Any undesirable conditions should be reported to the office (e.g. obese, amputee, etc.).
   4. After the data is recorded in the Access database an inventory card will be prepared for the morgue.
2. Procedures for Receiving Unfixed (frozen) Cadavers
   1. The embalming service will deliver the body to the BSEB morgue (room 17), the body will be placed on a tray inside the cold room.
   2. The morgue manager will draw blood, label the vials, complete the form required by the Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) and deliver the samples to OBI for testing.
   3. The morgue manager will clean the body, place ID tags on the extremities, place the body in a plastic bag and complete the body identification chart.
   4. The morgue manager will forward all associated OBI paperwork along with the body identification chart to the Willed Body Program director. 
   5. The morgue manager will place the body in the freezer, and report the location to the Willed Body Program office. Any undesirable conditions should be reported to the office (e.g. obese, amputee, etc.).
   6. The Willed Body Program director will complete a Freezer/Lightly Embalmed Case Inventory Sheet for all unfixed/lightly embalmed cadavers and add this to the Freezer/Lightly Embalmed Case notebook.
3. Procedures for Receiving Lightly Embalmed Cadavers
   1. The embalming service will deliver the body to the BSEB morgue (room 17), the body will be placed on a tray inside the cold room.
   2. The morgue manager will draw blood, label the vials, complete the form required by the Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI) and deliver the samples to OBI for testing.
   3. The morgue manager will clean the body, place ID tags on the extremities and complete the body identification chart.
   4. The morgue manager will forward all associated OBI paperwork along with the body identification chart to the Willed Body Program director.
   5. After lightly embalming, the morgue manager will place the body in the freezer and report the location to the Willed Body Program office. Any undesirable conditions should be reported to the office (e.g. obese, amputee, etc.)
   6. The Willed Body Program director will complete a Freezer/Lightly Embalmed Case Inventory Sheet for all unfixed/lightly embalmed cadavers and add this to the Freezer/Lightly Embalmed Case notebook.

• Policy Date: 1980
• Approved By: Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/8/19
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Reimbursement of Expenses When a Body is Claimed After Donation but Prior to Use (503.1)

The Willed Body Program, under the authority of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and acting as an Agent of the Oklahoma State Anatomical Board, shall be responsible for obtaining reimbursement of expenses incurred in reliance on a donation when a body is claimed for private disposition by a private person, organization, or a county prior to use by the Program.

 
Policy

If the body has not already been used and is reasonably available to be claimed, a request to claim the body may be made in writing to the Program director.  

Procedure

1. Individuals inquiring about claiming a body that was donated will be advised that they must submit the request in writing within 10 business days¹, that the Program will determine whether the body is still available to be claimed, and that expenses incurred will be calculated and must be paid in advance of release of the body. The request should include a contact telephone number and the name of the funeral home that will pick up the body on behalf of the individual.
2. The Director will immediately place a hold on the body and allow at least 10 University business days for the written request to arrive.
3. The Program director will review the request, determine whether the body is reasonably available, and determine what costs the Program has already incurred, including those for embalming the body, transportation, and the cremation permit. As soon as possible, the Program director will notify the requesting individual by telephone of the availability, costs, and process for retrieval and confirm that the individual wishes to proceed.
4. Prior to releasing the body to the individual or entity acting for the individual, the Program shall collect from the claimant the full amount of expenses the Program incurred. Acceptable methods of payment shall be in accordance with University policy.

¹

Requests may be made via fax, email, in-person delivery, or mail.

• Policy Date: 6/22/2018
• Approved By: Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised:
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Blood Testing Unfixed (non-embalmed) and Lightly Embalmed Cadavers (504)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board. Employees are to observe Universal Precautions to prevent contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).

1. The contracted mortuary service or morgue manager will draw two red top tubes of blood from each unfixed or lightly embalmed body. Gloves must be worn during this procedure.
2. Each tube will be marked using a black felt tip pen with the body number and kept refrigerated until delivery to Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). While wearing rubber gloves, the contracted mortuary service or morgue manager will use the bar code labels provided by OBI to label each tube - a label will also be placed on the completed Cadaveric (non-heart beating) Donor Laboratory Test Request form of the deceased. The tubes will be placed in a suitable bag and along with the form taken to OBI using their west gate access (9th & Geary).
3. The morgue manager will deliver the remaining bar code labels and the completed Body Identification Chart for the deceased to the Willed Body Program director.
4. OBI will email the serology report to the Willed Body Program director and morgue manager. If tests are negative (non-reactive), the specimen is ready to issue; if the tests are inconclusive, the body will be embalmed; if the tests are positive (reactive), the body will be cremated as soon as the cremation permit is received from the Medical Examiner's Office.

• Policy Date: 9/1/93
• Approved By: Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/22/21
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Approval for Use of Cadavers (Cadaveric Specimen) (505)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board.

1. The Anatomical Board (Board) must approve all programs or individuals that wish to receive or use anatomical specimens. This includes donation programs as well as institutions or individuals using anatomical specimens. Initial requests to use cadavers must be submitted in writing and contain all documents and information required by the Board. In addition, the Board must perform a site visit before final approval is granted. After approval by the Board, the requesting institution or individual must submit their requests to the Willed Body Program at least three weeks prior to the date the specimen is required. Accounts are billed as required by OUHSC's Service Unit Accounting Department.
2. Cadaver issuance is determined in the order of the requests received; one institution is not favored over another.  Surplus cadavers may be issued to any approved institution/program, including those out of state.
3. The Board approved the use of cadaveric specimens by private practice physicians/surgeons.  Initially approved in 1992, a 1994 ruling restated the policy.  In 2001, the Board approved allowing use by physicians and surgeons to learn new surgical procedures/techniques, and approved allowing medical equipment companies to make these arrangements on behalf of the physician. New companies wishing to use anatomical specimens must receive Board approval prior to requesting specimens from the Willed Body Program.  Because the Anatomical Board meets only twice each year, two Board members may review and approve these requests on behalf of the Board. Once a company is approved by the Board, the requesting company must submit their approval letter along with a completed cadaver request form to the Willed Body Program director at least three weeks prior to the date the specimen is required. 
4. Some cadaveric specimens, but not whole cadavers, may be taken out of the United States; consideration for such request will be made on a case-by-case basis and the requestor must be responsible for obtaining all pertinent documents, including those deemed necessary by the Board.

• Policy Date: 1980
• Approved By: State Anatomical Board; Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/22/21
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Final Disposition of Cadavers (506)

The State Anatomical Board has jurisdiction over all whole body donations in the State; however, the Willed Body Program has authority to make procedural policy. All policies emulate those of the Anatomical Board.

1. In all cases, cadavers are cremated individually and ashes placed in individually labeled containers.
2. The Willed Body Program offers three options for disposition of cremated remains (cremains):
   1. Send cremains to survivors (or designee).
   2. Scatter cremains on university property.
   3. Group interment of cremains in a cemetery.
3. Disposition is determined by the donor at the time he/she completes the document of donation form. Only the immediate next of kin may change the disposition designated by the donor, and only in the priority as listed in State Statutes for making an anatomical donation (i.e. the spouse, adult children, an adult brother or sister, a guardian of the decedent at the time of his death). In the event of a dispute among family members, the Willed Body Program will abide by the wishes stated by the donor on the donation form.
4. If interment is chosen:
   1. The University purchases a cemetery plot at Resthaven Cemetery. This occurs every 2-3 years.
   2. Letters are sent to the next of kin to confirm that they still desire that the cremains be included in the group interment.
   3. The ashes are placed in individual urns and labeled. The interment site is marked with a plaque listing the names of those interred in that particular gravesite.
5. Return Cremains for Private Disposition  
   1. When the cremains are available, Willed Body Program staff will send a letter to the next of kin and ask them to sign a form authorizing the Willed Body Program to mail the urn via USPS Priority Mail Express 2-Day.
   2. When the signed authorization is received, the urn will be packaged according to postal regulations and placed in the mail. All delivered packages will require a signature. When possible, the urn will be mailed the same day the Willed Body Program receives the authorization.
   3. If preferred, the urn may be picked up from the Willed Body Program office by calling ahead. The urn must be signed for.
6. Scattering Cremains
   1. University officials will determine where the cremains will be scattered; currently, that location is on University of Oklahoma property. 
   2. The cremains are placed in a bag or container labeled with the cadaver control number, and then held until arrangements can be made to transport and scatter. Several cremains are scattered at the same time.
   3. The cremains are scattered by Willed Body Program personnel.

• Policy Date: 8/28/1972
• Approved By: Oklahoma State Anatomical Board; Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 7/8/19
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/22

Protection of Donor Records (507)

The Willed Body Program, under the authority of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and acting as an Agent of the Oklahoma State Anatomical Board, shall be responsible for ensuring all donor records are secured as described below.

1. Donor forms and files for donors who have not yet passed shall be stored in a secured room in a College of Medicine facility.
   1. The door to the room shall be equipped with a card swipe and key system or similar. Only the Director of the Willed Body Program (and emergency personnel when appropriate) shall have 24/7 access to this room. The Willed Body Program’s administrative coordinator, morgue manager and classroom support specialist shall have access Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.
   2. The file cabinets where donor information is stored shall be locked when the area is unattended. Only the Willed Body Program’s director and administrative coordinator shall have keys.
2. Donor files for donors who have recently passed shall be secured in a locked filed cabinet in the secured file room. The Willed Body Program’s director and designee, if needed, shall have the key to the cabinet.
3. Digital donor records shall be kept only on one of the University’s secured networks. The Willed Body Program’s director, administrative coordinator, morgue manager and classroom support specialist have access to the files.
4. If donor records are provided to the Willed Body Program’s Oklahoma City contracted funeral home, such records shall be provided via email following OUHSC's guidelines when sending secured encrypted emails. The email will include a password-protected spreadsheet. Contract terms with the funeral home shall require the funeral home to maintain all donor information in confidence.

• Policy Date: 3/24/17
• Approved By: OUHSC Legal Counsel; Director, Willed Body Program
• Date Revised: 5/16/17, 8/14/20
• Date Reviewed: 6/28/2