Willed Body Program

Pictured: Willed Body mourners walk to the seaside, to watch grateful University of Hawaii medical students, in canoes, distribute the remains of body donors into the ocean.

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, JABSOM continues to have reduced need for anatomical gifts. Therefore, JABSOM will not be accepting/processing additional donor Anatomical Gift Donation forms after Tuesday, December 20, 2022. Any planned donations will require that the original-signed Anatomical Gift Donation forms be postmarked by December 20, 2022 to be processed. We will not accept any applications by fax or email. Any paperwork received after this date will be held in a secure file with only acknowledgement of receipt until we are able to begin accepting applications again. The support from our community to the Willed Body Program has been tremendous. We are deeply grateful to all donors who ensure JABSOM’s mission of attaining lasting optimal health for all continues. While donor enrollment will be on pause until further notice, we look forward to reopening enrollment in the near future.

IMPORTANT: Those who are current donors, whose donor status is up to date (‘active’ status), will remain enrolled. We will continue to accept body donations of ‘active’ enrolled donors for now. If you have questions about your donor status, we encourage you to either call or email us during our business hours of 8:00AM – 4:30PM, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. However, should the program approach capacity, JABSOM may have to temporarily stop accepting body donations even from enrolled donors. Please check our website for updates: https://jabsom.hawaii.edu/donors/willedbody/. If you have any questions, please contact the Willed Body Program at 808-692-1445 or wbdonor@hawaii.edu.

The University of Hawaii Willed Body Program

The Importance of Body Donation
Anatomy is the study of the structure and function of the human body. It is one of the most important courses in the education of physicians, therapists and all other health care professions. The study of anatomy comes early in the medical curriculum and serves as the foundation for other courses. In addition, physicians in residency training and those in practice often pursue special courses in anatomy to enhance their skills and learn new techniques. Body donation plays a critical role in helping medical and health-related science students to master the complex anatomy of the human body and provides researchers with an essential tool for discoveries to help patients.

The Willed Body Program
The Body Donation Program at the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), is committed to excellence in research and education. While the primary focus of the Willed Body Program is to obtain the human cadaver for educational and scientific study, we strive to administer our program in a way consistent with the spirit of the good physician. In our contact with donors registering with the Willed Body Program or with the families of the donor we provide service that is compassionate as well as competent. Anatomical donations are greatly appreciated. Each contributes directly to new understandings. The need is great, and each gift is valued and honored. Students and staff treat each donor with the utmost respect and dignity.

Each year, to show their appreciation to the donors and their families, medical students and staff participate in a Memorial Service to honor these “silent teachers”.

Contact Information:

University of Hawaii
Dept. of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology Willed Body Program
651 Ilalo Street, BSB 110
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: 808-692-1445
E-mail: wbdonor@hawaii.edu