About Educational Memorial Programs (EMP)

Educational Memorial Programs (EMPs), also known as "Willed Body Programs", "Client Donation Programs", and "Body Donation Programs" are becoming increasingly popular in veterinary medical education. For over a century, medical doctors have learned anatomy by using donated cadavers of deceased human beings. By contrast, almost all North American veterinary colleges obtain their cat and dog cadavers from animal dealers (including biological supply companies), breeders (animals purposely bred for research or teaching), the greyhound industry (retired animals), and animal shelters (unadopted animals).

In recent years, both veterinary faculty and companion animal owners have begun to wonder if it were possible to donate a pet's body for medical knowledge, the same as people can when they die. This questioning stems in part from ethical concerns and legislative developments (some states have barred the use of shelter animals).

In response to these developments, several U.S. veterinary schools have designed Educational Memorial Programs, modeled after human body donation programs, with deceased animals being donated to the veterinary teaching hospital directly by their owners. Donated animals are those which: 1) have been euthanized due to medically untreatable illness, 2) have been euthanized due to clients' inability to pay for expensive treatments, and 3) have died of natural causes. EMPs offer veterinary colleges an alternative source of cadavers for teaching purposes, and animal owners a special opportunity to support the training of future veterinarians.

The aim of this web page is to provide helpful information about EMPs to interested veterinary students and faculty. Much of the information provided is drawn from the experiences of anatomy instructors and other faculty at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine where a donation program has been successfully established. This school has set a valuable, instructive precedent for others to follow.

The following individuals contributed considerably to this project. We gratefully acknowledge them:

Gina Alvino
Dr. Jonathan Balcombe
Kathleen Conlee
Dr. Lili Duda
Stephanie Edwards
Tamara Hamilton
Dr. Anton Hoffman
Andrew Knight
Dr. A.M. Kumar
Dawn McPherson
Tamara Miller
Dr. Gary Patronek
Gwendolen Reyes-Illg
Dr. Andrew Rowan
Dr. Martin Stephens
Dr. Norman WIlsman

Drs. Duda, Hoffman, Kumar, Patronek, and Wilsman, Ms. Reyes-Illg and Ms. Miller have worked extensively on the development of an educational memorial program at their respective colleges.

We welcome your suggestions for the content of this webpage.
Please contact:

Lori Donley, DVM <ldonley@peoplepc.com>

Linnaea Stull, DVM <linnaeastull@yahoo.com>