Eligibility Criteria for Prospective Donors

We greatly appreciate your interest in UB's Anatomical Gift Program. At the time of passing of each donor an eligibility screening will take place.

Eligibility Requirements

If capacity allows, and consistent with the standards of the American Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY), UB’s Anatomical Gift Program will accept donations from donors who:

  • are 18 years of age or older at the time of enrollment
  • have been enrolled in our program for at least one month at the time of death
  • reside in New York State and pass away in NYS within a 100-mile radius of the University at Buffalo

There are a number of conditions that make donors unsuitable for teaching and research, including, but not limited to, the exclusion criteria listed below.

Therefore, the Anatomical Gift Program cannot accept an anatomical gift if:

  • the individual was obese at the time of death, we consider this a BMI over 30
  • the individual had an infectious disease at the time of death (including COVID-19)
  • an autopsy was performed
  • any organs, excluding the eyes, were harvested for donation at the time of death

In order for UB's Anatomical Gift Program to accept a donation from an enrolled participant, program staff must be notified of the individual's death within 48 hours of the presumed time of death.

Disclaimer

Based on the above criteria, UB's Anatomical Gift Program reserves the right to respectfully decline an anatomical gift donation at their discretion. 

The UB Anatomical Gift Program may reach capacity limits, when reached the program will go into a closure. These closures are temporary however any donor passing during a time of closure will be ineligible and need to utilize their alternative funeral plan. 

There are biannual closures to the program occurring in July and the end of December. These closure dates will be posted as early as possible on the main page of our website. Any donor passing during a time of closure will be ineligible and need to utilize their alternative funeral plan.