The University of Pittsburgh is a member school of the Humanity Gifts Registry (HGR) body donation program (non-profit agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) and is a recipient of donor bodies for its various health professions programs.
If a prospective HGR donor has passed, please call the Humanity Gifts Registry 215.922.4440.
The Office for Oversight of Anatomic Specimens (OOAS) responds to all inquiries regarding body donation. The HGR provides the OOAS with its informational donor material, including donor registration forms, brochure and instructional sheet, to disseminate to interested persons.
To request the informational material and donor form(s) be mailed to you via USPS, please contact Jim Maksin at jim.maksin@pitt.edu or call 412-648-8873. Please provide your name, address and telephone number and the request for the donor information.
Inquiries vary and are initated by individuals, hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, social service agencies, and funeral homes on behalf of family members.
The donation of one's body upon death is a unique gift that provides a source of knowledge and training that cannot be substituted by any other means. For the donor, it is a final act of giving that extends beyond the immediate utilization of the body. It is a gift that helps to establish the foundation of our future health care professionals in learning about the intricacies of the human body. At the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, body donation is vital for physicians, nurses and allied health practitioners to better understand and master human anatomy, and for researchers to potentially advance medical treatments and procedures.
At the University of Pittsburgh, a Celebration of Remembrance memorial service occurs yearly with the Humanity Gifts Registry, to honor the memories of the donors and our appreciation of their selfless gift.
Additionally, if you are interested in donating specific tissue that may be utilized for research on ALS, Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, or mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disease, there are donation opportunities offered by the following University of Pittsburgh and UPMC programs. Please contact them directly. Links to some of these programs are listed below: