--- description: Several factors seem to be contributing to the spike in people choosing to donate their bodies to science after death title: Why More People Than Ever Are Donating Their Bodies to Science image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta17dd5ba223302c3/6988a2af97cdff6eae6ad793/bodies-donated-science.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why More People Than Ever Are Donating Their Bodies to Science by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2016 5:12 PM CUT  Angela McArthur, right, director of the Anatomy Bequest Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School, walks with Jean Larson, widow of a donor, in Minneapolis on Aug. 11, 2016. Angela McArthur, right, director of the Anatomy Bequest Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School, walks with Jean Larson, widow of a donor, in Minneapolis on Aug. 11, 2016.Andy Clayton-King—AP by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2016 5:12 PM CUT A number of medical schools around the country have seen an increase in people [donating their bodies to science](http://bigstory.ap.org/f99bacafa4a04086bbe99de029aa710f&utm%5Fsource=android%5Fapp&utm%5Fmedium=reddit%5Fis%5Ffun&utm%5Fcampaign=share%0D%0A%0D%0AShared%20via%20AP%20Mobile.%20Download%20the%20app%20now:%0D%0AiOS%20-%20http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ap-mobile/id284901416?mt=8%0D%0AAndroid%20-%20https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mnn.Android&referrer=utm%5Fsource=share%5Fitem&utm%5Fmedium=reddit%5Fis%5Ffun "undefined") after death. Some institutions, including the University of Minnesota and the University at Buffalo, have seen the number of donated cadavers double in the last decade, the Associated Press reports. The reason for the spike seems to be twofold: The idea of allowing a loved one’s corpse to be carved up is no longer as much of a taboo, and the cost of a traditional [burial](http://time.com/4425172/cremation-outpaces-burial-u-s/ "undefined") has increased. Many schools that use cadavers for medical research [cremate](http://time.com/4447973/why-more-americans-are-choosing-cremation/ "undefined") the body when they are done and often return the cremains to the family at no cost. When it comes to understanding the human anatomy and practicing surgical techniques, using a real human cadaver is infinitely more useful to medical students than plastic, rubber or virtual alternatives, experts say. “There’s no substitute for the real thing, because ultimately these people are going to be taking care of patients,” Dr. Michael Zenn, a surgery professor at Duke, told the AP. “It’s just a priceless donation.” \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/f99bacafa4a04086bbe99de029aa710f&utm%5Fsource=android%5Fapp&utm%5Fmedium=reddit%5Fis%5Ffun&utm%5Fcampaign=share%0D%0A%0D%0AShared%20via%20AP%20Mobile.%20Download%20the%20app%20now:%0D%0AiOS%20-%20http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ap-mobile/id284901416?mt=8%0D%0AAndroid%20-%20https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mnn.Android&referrer=utm%5Fsource=share%5Fitem&utm%5Fmedium=reddit%5Fis%5Ffun "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4456189/more-people-donating-bodies-to-science/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4456189/more-people-donating-bodies-to-science/"},"headline":"Why More People Than Ever Are Donating Their Bodies to Science","datePublished":"2016-08-17T17:12:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:02:28.318Z","description":"Several factors seem to be contributing to the spike","url":"https://time.com/4456189/more-people-donating-bodies-to-science/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta17dd5ba223302c3/6988a2af97cdff6eae6ad793/bodies-donated-science.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta17dd5ba223302c3/6988a2af97cdff6eae6ad793/bodies-donated-science.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Medical Schools-Body Donations","caption":"CORRECTS IDENTIFICATION - In this Aug. 11, 2016 photo, Angela McArthur, right, director of the Anatomy Bequest Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School, walks with Jean Larson, widow of a donor in Minneapolis. Once a relatively rare option,","creditText":"Andy Clayton-King—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4456189/more-people-donating-bodies-to-science/","name":"Why More People Than Ever Are Donating Their Bodies to Science"}}]}] ```