Human Body Donation Programme for Medical Science
If you have decided to donate your remains to the Institute of Anatomy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, the Lithuanian medical community is very grateful for the honourable decision. It will enable medical students and doctors to study human anatomy.
To formalise your decision, please complete and sign 3–4 copies of the Last Will Statement Form for Body Donation. One signed copy should be sent to the Institute of Anatomy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (A. Mickevičiaus g. 9, Kaunas LT44307). Please keep the second copy for yourself, and hand the other copies (if you wish) to your relatives or to the people you trust for them to keep the copies. This statement of your Last Will is confidential (not to be made public), so please inform only your family and/or your GP of your decision.
If you change your place of residence, please inform Asta Jurevičiūtė, administrator of the LSMU Institute of Anatomy, as soon as possible (email asta.jureviciute@lsmu.lt; phone number 8-37 327239).
Once we have received your completed and signed Last Will Statement Form, we will send you a special card to keep with your personal documents. We will be notified of your death on the phone by Your family members or other persons specified in your Last Will Statement Form. The Institute of Anatomy will take care of bringing the remains to the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Outside working hours, at weekends and on public holidays, you can contact us on the mobile phone numbers listed in this information sheet.
Your body will be kept at the Institute of Anatomy for up to 3 years due to the nature of embalming and the length of the study of human anatomy. At the expiry of the storage period of your embalmed body at the Institute of Anatomy, it will be cremated or, if you wish, buried without cremation. The coffin or urn containing your cremated remains will be buried in the Kaunas City Cemetery plot, where the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences buries human remains used for scientific research and studies and takes care of their graves. If you wish your remains or the urn containing your cremated remains to be buried in another place, this must be specified in your Last Will Statement.
New exhibits preserved to last for a long time highly and teach students are constantly added to the collection of the Museum of Anatomy by qualified specialists at the Institute of Anatomy. The anatomy exhibits represent different parts and organs of the human body. You can also give your consent for parts or organs of your body to be used as anatomical exhibits by completing a Last Will Statement Form. If you do not consent to the use of individual parts of your body as anatomical exhibits in your Last Will Statement Form, they will not be used for this purpose.
The Institute of Anatomy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences assumes responsibility for the cremation, burial and care of your remains in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Burial of Human Remains and the Description of the Procedure for the Implementation of the Programme of the Use of Human Remains in Medical Studies approved by the LSMU.
When completing the Last Will Statement Form, you will be asked to name at least three close ones who will sign a commitment to notify the Institute of Anatomy of your death.
N.B. You can cancel the donation of your remains to the LSMU Institute of Anatomy at any time without providing any explanations. You only need to personally inform the Institute of Anatomy of the cancellation on the phone, by post, or by email. If you pass away outside the Republic of Lithuania, your Last Will Statement agreement with the Anatomy Institute will be void. Your Last Will Statement will not be valid if you die a violent death or have an infectious disease.