THE University of the West Indies (The UWI) currently has 62 applications from individuals who’ve formally indicated their desire to donate their bodies to science upon death.

Jamaicans are warming to the idea of body donation — which was once met with discomfort and resistance — according to professor of anatomy at The UWI, Mona campus, Jean-Pierre Louboutin, who said the figure signals a dramatic change in public sentiment.

The number of applications has moved from an average of two to four annually, prior to 2019, to an average of 10 applicants since then, which is when they implemented a programme to get more donors.

Professor Louboutin said the university now receives between 12 and 15 bodies suitable for advancing medical education and research every year — a far cry from the single body donation it received in 2014.

He believes the shift is influenced by rising funeral costs, which have forced many families to reconsider traditional burial practices, but economics is only part of the story.

The anatomy professor noted that medical professionals are among the most eager donors — often viewing body donation as a final act of service and a way to give back to the field to which they devoted years of study and sacrifice. In death, they choose to continue teaching, helping to shape the hands and minds of future doctors and researchers.

Body donation involves gifting one’s entire body after death for medical research, education, and clinical training. It plays a critical role in preparing future doctors and nurses, allowing for surgical practice and supporting the development of new medical devices and treatments.

Professor Louboutin said the upward trend is encouraging, especially as he reflects on what donations were like years ago.

“In 2014, it was one body donation, and in 2015, it was four bodies. In 2012, it was eight, and in 2011, it was one; and in 2010, it was 13, so we do see a variety. It really depends, but I think we have more now than we had before,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“We had an advocate who was trying to advocate for body donation, and she had a lot of people that she knew who would be interested in it. Some of the people were alumni from The UWI who were also interested in it, so it’s more [known]. Also, because of financial reasons for some families, it’s less expensive to do it that way, but on the other side, it’s a gift to give your body to medicine,” he said.

At present, established funeral homes charge approximately $300,000 to $600,000 for a basic funeral package that typically covers storage, body preparation, a casket, transportation, and printed programmes. However, depending on the level of service requested, costs can climb to $1 million or more.

These figures represent a steep increase when compared to 2013. At that time, a
Jamaica Observer article, entitled ‘UWI urges public to donate bodies for research’, reported that the cheapest funeral package available was about $128,000.

The escalation is even more striking in the case of burial vaults. The article stated that in 2013 vaults were priced at $68,000 at Meadowrest Memorial Gardens and $78,000 at Dovecot Memorial Park. Current figures show vaults at Meadowrest now range from $181,000 to $583,000, while at Dovecot, prices fall between $169,000 and $258,000.

Cremation has also seen notable increases. In 2013 cremation with a funeral service could cost up to $95,000. Today, the average cost is well above $150,000.

There is no cost for body donation.

Death doula Patrice Dwyer, a non-medical professional who provides emotional, spiritual, and practical support to individuals and families navigating terminal illness, dying, and early grief, said finances are often a major part of end-of-life conversations.

She noted that many families quietly grapple with how they will manage funeral expenses, sometimes scrambling to find the necessary funds or exploring alternatives that ease the financial strain.

However, Dwyer emphasised that cost is not always the primary motivation behind body donation. In her experience, the decision frequently grows out of a deeper reflection on legacy, how individuals wish to be remembered, and the impact they hope to leave behind.

“They’re wanting to explore that [body donation] because some of them are like, ‘Well, after I leave this body, it’s no good to me, but maybe it can help somebody else, and that’s part of my legacy planning.’ When I plan with people we speak about legacy, too, and for some people, this is part of their legacy. They’ll say, ‘I’m allowing some students to learn more and to grow by giving up my body,’ ” she told the Sunday Observer.

She added that alternative end-of-life options are also gaining attention globally, including aquamation — a water-based process that uses alkaline hydrolysis to gently break down the body — and recomposition, sometimes called human composting, where the body is placed in a vessel with organic materials for about 30 days to naturally decompose. The remaining material can then be used to nourish soil and support the planting of trees.

Dwyer encouraged Jamaicans to educate themselves about the full range of choices available, particularly those that are environmentally sustainable.

“We are an island. We will run out of space. We don’t have space to bury everybody,” she stressed.

While the current number of annually donated bodies are adequate, Professor Louboutin said it would be great to have more donations, even as Jamaica supports students at other The UWI campuses who do not have access to donor bodies for practice.

“Jamaica is different from the other Caribbean countries, at least for The UWI campuses. We are getting much more bodies compared to Trinidad, for example, at the St Augustine campus, and Barbados, where they are not getting donor bodies. They don’t have any donation programmes there, so, for example, in Barbados, they have like one donor body that they are using,” said The UWI professor.

He continued: “Trinidad is the same thing. They don’t have any bodies, so one of the issues that they might have is, for example, when you have a resident in the surgery programme, they are coming to our lab to get some training and to do some dissection and so on.

He noted that in Trinidad, in particular, there is a large Indian population and cremation is often the burial method of choice as it aligns with cultural beliefs.

The anatomy professor urged Jamaicans to consider donation, stressing that the process has benefits far beyond educating the next generation.

“It can be done for research to compare the anatomy of Jamaican people to other people, and so it can have an impact in terms of surgery and medicine, and then there is the other part for teaching medical students. It increases knowledge, generally, about the human body, but everything is related so it will also be linked to finding new treatments and so on, and to characterise threats which are specific to the Jamaican population,” he explained.

The donation of one’s remains is governed by the Anatomy Act of Jamaica, which outlines the legal framework for the process. Under the law, relatives of the deceased must grant permission through a witnessed document signed by a justice of the peace.

Individuals who are terminally ill or those simply seeking to make advance arrangements may formally express their wish to donate their bodies by informing relatives or including the request in their last will and testament. Donor application forms are also available through the Anatomy Department at The UWI, which also provides prospective donors with guidance on the process, including advice related to grief support for families.

Following death, arrangements are made to transport the body to the university, where it undergoes embalming to ensure long-term preservation. Donated bodies may be stored in the department’s facility for up to 20 years, allowing them to be used in medical education and research over an extended period.

However, not all bodies are eligible for donation. Remains cannot be accepted if they are part of an ongoing investigation. Bodies that have undergone an autopsy, or those of individuals who sustained multiple gunshot wounds, are also ineligible, as such conditions can make proper embalming impossible. Additionally, bodies of persons who died by suicide are not accepted.

Individuals who had certain infectious diseases are likewise excluded from anatomical study, and bodies that have begun to decompose prior to transfer are unsuitable for donation.

Professor in anatomy at The University of the West Indies. Mona, Dr Jean-Pierre Louboutin.

DWYER…we are an island…we don’t have space to bury everybody