Choosing to donate your body to science is a generous decision. Here's the part most families only hear about on the day it matters: the school can say no.
You can donate your body to science in Ontario or Quebec by registering with a medical school, but registering doesn't guarantee the school will accept it. Each school decides at the time of death, usually within hours. It can say no for medical reasons, because too much time has passed, or because it already has enough donors. If that happens, your family has to arrange a burial or cremation right away. A backup plan made now spares them that scramble.
One daughter told us her mother had registered with a medical school years earlier, and the school had warned the family it might not be able to accept her. They wanted something in place, without paying for a cremation they hoped they'd never need. This page is for families in that spot, including how to set up a backup with Cleo without paying anything.
How to donate your body to science in Ontario and Quebec
The steps are short in both provinces, but they differ. Here's how they compare, with the University of Toronto (U of T) as the Ontario example.
| Step | Ontario | Quebec |
|---|---|---|
| How you consent | The school's consent form, written consent, or saying it aloud in front of two witnesses | A donor card, signed in front of two witnesses aged 18 or older |
| Where you register | A school of anatomy, usually the one nearest you (Ontario lists 10) | McGill, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, UQTR, Cégep de Rosemont or Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy |
| Who decides at death | The school or its transport agency (for U of T, MacKinnon and Bowes) | The school, after it inspects the body |
| How fast | U of T: within 24 hours of death, or 72 hours if the body is in a morgue | Picked up within 24 to 48 hours |
| Transport cost | U of T: a transport and paperwork fee, billed to the estate | Free up to 250 km (60 km for McGill); extra distance is charged |
| How long the body is kept | U of T: one to three years | Several months to 4 years |
| The ashes | Buried in the school's plot, or returned on request | Buried at no cost, or returned if you arrange it in the days after the death |
Ontario: the consent form and the school nearest you
Under Ontario's Gift of Life Act, a person can consent to whole-body donation on a school's consent form, in writing, or out loud in front of at least two witnesses. If they never did, their next of kin can consent after the death. Body donation in Ontario usually goes to the closest school of anatomy, depending on its needs.
The University of Toronto's Willed Body Program adds a warning: a line in your will isn't enough, because the burial or cremation often happens before anyone reads the will. Fill in the consent form and tell your executor. At the time of death, they call the program's transport agency, which asks for the first and last pages of the will before assessing the body. If death is close, they can call ahead.
Quebec: the donor card and two witnesses
In Quebec, you order an information sheet with a donor card through the Quebec government's body donation page. Sign the card, have two adults witness it, and keep it with your health insurance card. You can also ask a notary to record your consent in your will or your protection mandate.
What happens at death depends on where it happens. In a hospital or a facility with refrigerated storage, the family tells the care team, and staff follow the procedure. At home, the family calls the funeral home the school works with, which holds the body until the school decides. For Université Laval, for example, that's the Coopérative funéraire des Deux-Rives.
What disqualifies you from donating your body to science?
A refusal isn't a judgment of your loved one or of the gift. Schools decline a body they can't use safely for teaching: after an autopsy or embalming, after organ donation, with certain infections, above a weight or size limit, after major trauma, when too much time has passed since the death, or when they already have enough donors.
Here are the full lists from Ontario (ontario.ca and U of T) and Quebec (quebec.ca):
- An autopsy, or embalming
- Organ donation at death, except the eyes (U of T) or the corneas (Quebec)
- Certain infectious diseases, such as hepatitis, HIV, sepsis or C. difficile (Quebec), or COVID-19 (U of T)
- Weight or size: over 200 lb (about 91 kg) or a BMI over 29 at U of T; 90.7 kg or more, or 1.82 m or taller, in Quebec
- Amputation, severe trauma, burns, a major accident, or recent major surgery
- Limbs that can't be straightened, or restricted mobility
- Jaundice (Quebec)
- Too much time since the death (U of T: more than 24 hours, or 72 in a morgue)
- The school already has enough donors
Treat this as a guide, not a test you pass in advance. Ontario says there may be other exceptions, U of T calls its list "not exhaustive" and "subject to change," and Quebec's eligibility page dates from 2017. Several reasons only appear at the end of life: an infection in the last weeks, a fall, or a death at home that no one discovers for a day. That's why someone who registered in good health years ago can still be declined.
A school's weight limit isn't a cremation limit: no law in either province caps cremation by body weight, though each provider sets its own policy. If weight is the reason, here's how weight affects a cremation.
Want the exact, all-inclusive price for your situation? Get my price →
What happens if the school says no at the time of death?
A no, a few hours after a death, is hard to hear. The next steps are ordinary ones, and you can take them one call at a time.
If the school declines, your family arranges a burial or cremation, the same as after any death, with the provider of its choice. Nothing from the registration carries over. In Quebec, the government's guidance says next of kin "must proceed with burial or cremation." If no one takes charge, the body is treated as unclaimed, and the ashes are eventually buried in a common grave.
In practice, the family needs three things quickly:
- Where your loved one is now. A hospital morgue, a residence, your home, or, in Quebec, the school's partner funeral home.
- One provider to call. Ideally someone you chose ahead of time, not the first name in a search at midnight.
- The person who'll sign. Usually the executor, liquidator or closest next of kin.
When a family calls Cleo after a refusal, a real person answers, 24/7, in English or French. Tell us where your loved one is. We arrange the transportation, the cremation, and the return of the ashes at a fixed, all-inclusive price. No hidden fees, no catch: the quote you get on that call is the bill.
Set up a backup now, without paying now
Planning a backup isn't doubting the donation. It means your family has one call to make instead of ten.
You can open a file with Cleo today without paying anything. It records the person's details and wishes, and it gives your family one number to call if the school says no. If the school accepts, the file is never used. What it doesn't do is lock a price: if the file is used, the price is the one in effect at that time.
If you'd rather lock today's price by paying ahead, in full or monthly, you can. If the school then accepts the body, what you've paid is refunded, minus administrative fees. Ask us what those fees are before you sign. The rules for paid plans differ by province, as our guides to pre-planning a cremation in Ontario and pre-planning a cremation in Quebec explain.
Who should know both plans
- Your executor or liquidator, and your closest family. They're the ones who'll call the school, and the backup, on the day.
- Wherever your papers live. Keep the consent form or donor card together with the backup number, next to your ID.
- The care team, if you're already receiving care. Ask how they handle a body donation at the end of life. If a parent is in palliative care in Montreal, here's what to expect when a parent is in palliative care.
Questions families ask
Common questions about donating your body to science
Does it cost anything to donate your body to science?
It depends on the school and the distance. In Ontario, U of T bills the estate a fee for transport and paperwork, then pays for the cremation after the study period. In Quebec, schools collect the body free of charge up to 250 km (60 km for McGill) and bury the remains at no cost. Getting the ashes back can carry a fee in both provinces, depending on the school.
Can I be an organ donor and donate my body to science?
No, with one exception. Schools need the body intact, so donating organs at the time of death rules out a whole-body donation. The eyes (U of T) and the corneas (Quebec) are the exception. If organ donation matters more to you, register for that instead: in Ontario, through Trillium Gift of Life.
Can my family still hold a funeral or a viewing?
Not with the body. In Quebec, the school picks up the body within 48 hours, so there's no viewing at a funeral home, and embalming rules out a donation in both provinces. Families often hold a memorial without the body instead, at any time. Most schools also host a yearly service to honour their donors, and families are invited.
Will we get the ashes back?
Yes, if you ask. At U of T, the executor chooses when the body is accepted: burial in the school's plot at St. James Cemetery, or return to the family, who pick the ashes up or pay for delivery. In Quebec, arrange the return with the school in the days after the death. Some schools charge for it.
Can my family change the plan after I pass away?
They can block it. U of T accepts a body only if the next of kin or executor doesn't object at the time of death. In Quebec, the government notes that some families refuse only because no one ever told them. The most useful step is the conversation: tell them your wish, and where both plans are written down.
Whichever answer the school gives
If the school accepts, your body donation goes where you wanted it, and your family won't need us. That's a good outcome, and the file cost you nothing.
If the answer is no, your family won't be starting from zero. A real person answers, 24/7, in English or French, and handles the cremation and the paperwork from there. After that, we stay on for months: paperwork, government benefits, loose ends.
To set up a backup, or to ask what it would look like for your family, call us any time.
(438) 817-1770