Body Donor Program

Please download our information booklet (PDF, 6.8 MB) to learn about the donation and eligibility process, how donors participate in the program as well as frequently asked questions. If after reading the information booklet you wish to proceed with registering your consent, please contact the BDP staff via phone (3365 2702), Email (bodydonor@uq.edu.au) or via the “request an information and registration pack” button on our website.

The University of Queensland holds a biennial Thanksgiving Ceremony to honour our body donors and recognise the support provided by donor families in making this decision. This Ceremony acknowledges the significant impact donors contribute within the program and the advancements within teaching, training, scientific studies and research in Queensland. 

At time of passing, the Senior Available Next of Kin (SANOK) will have an opportunity to indicate their preference to receive an invitation to our next ceremony. Invitations will be mailed to the next of kin of donors who were accepted into the program for the period of 2 years prior to the ceremony. Live stream options are available for friends and family who are unable to join the ceremony in person.
 
The names of all donors accepted into the Program are confidentially scribed in the UQ Books of Remembrance, handcrafted in parchment and leather. The books are a focal point of the Ceremony where families, friends, staff and students can lay a flower in memory of the donors.
 

1. Call the UQ Body Donor Program (BDP) on (07) 3365 2702 to advise us of the death.

If the death is after hours or on a weekend, please leave a message when prompted and a staff member will contact you the next business day to begin the donor assessment process. We also advise that you discuss the intended donation with the family again at this time, to ensure there are no objections to the donation taking place.

2. Arrange for transfer of the body by a funeral director ASAP if death has occurred at home, in aged care or in a hospital without a mortuary— NB: Please follow the instructions for transfer as advised by BDP staff or the after hours phone message. If the death is in a public hospital you do not need to contact a funeral director until advised by the BDP staff.
    
3. The deceased will remain in care at either the hospital mortuary or funeral home mortuary whilst the preliminary assessment for acceptance into the program takes place. This includes checks into the intending donors medical history and cross checking of this information with an independent doctor which may take 1-2 days.
    
4. If deemed potentially suitable, the Body Donor Program will liaise with the appropriate teams to arrange for transfer of the body to the University for final physical inspection. Following inspection BDP staff will contact you immediately on whether the body has been accepted into the Program and the next steps.

Under a Type 1 Donation, following cremation the ashes will be offered to your next of kin, as nominated on your Body Donor Registration and Consent Form, or their nominee, free of charge for their own memorialisation. If your nominated next of kin’s details change during the time your body is in the University’s care, we ask that they contact us to provide the new details so that we can update our records.

NB: Where ashes are not collected within 12 months of notification or we are unable to contact your next of kin, they may be scattered or interred by the crematorium in accordance with the provisions of the Cremations Act 2003, at no cost to the family and with no further contact.

Under a Type 2 Donation, your ashes may be scattered or interred in a cemetery of the University’s choice, with no further contact with the next of kin. 

Currently, your nominated Senior Available Next of Kin (SANOK) will be liable for any costs involved with the transfer of your body to the University by a funeral home of your choice, including the initial transfer from the place of death to a funeral directors holding facility (if the death has occurred outside of a public hospital).

The University of Queensland will cover the cost of cremation of your body at a crematorium nominated by the University within Brisbane. Should you or your next of kin wish for your body to be buried in a cemetery of your choice, rather than be cremated, your family will be liable for these costs. Upon acceptance of the donor into the Body Donor Program, BDP staff will assist you by formally registering the death with Births Deaths and Marriages and the program will also cover this cost.

The University of Queensland Memorial Garden is located within the grounds of Mt Gravatt Cemetery in sections 2E & 2EE, on Gaiabau Avenue. Since the programs inception in 1927, this section of the Mt Gravatt Cemetery has served for many years as a fitting memorial and final resting place for many of our donors. A monument has been dedicated in this section to honour the thousands of donors that have so graciously and selflessly donated to our program for the advancement of education, training and research. Family and Friends of our donors are warmly invited to visit these gardens as a place to reflect and honour their loved ones.

Memorialisation options are available within these gardens. If you wish to organise a memorial in memory of your loved one within these gardens, please contact the Brisbane City Council Cemeteries on: (07) 3403 8888 or visit their website.