How to donate your body to medical science in New Zealand

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed annually, or sooner if the rules it describes change.

To donate your body to medical science in New Zealand, you register a body bequest with a university anatomy department before you die. The law requires consent from you and from an immediate family member, and the department can still decline the body at the time of death, so you need a backup funeral plan. Otago's department publishes the rules we could read in full; they are set out below, as at 20 October 2026.

A body bequest is a formal gift of your body after death to a university school of anatomy, where it is used for teaching and research. It is not the same as organ donation, which is a transplant for another patient and which the department treats separately. In New Zealand, a body bequest is governed by the Human Tissue Act 2008, which sets who can consent and where anatomical examination can take place. This page covers how a bequest works, what causes a decline, who pays for what and what a family should do in case the answer at the time of death is no.

What the law requires

Under section 32 of the Human Tissue Act 2008, consent to use a body for anatomical examination must be given by the person themselves before their death, and also by a member of their immediate family on their behalf after death. If consent is given under one route, it is invalid unless consent has also been given under the other. Two more rules sit in the Act: no one may use the body of a person who was under 16 when they died for anatomical examination (section 51), and anatomical examination must usually take place at a school of anatomy that the Governor-General has authorised by Order in Council (sections 52 and 77) (Human Tissue Act 2008).

Otago applies the dual-consent rule in practice. You and one immediate family member both sign its consent form, and the family member must take reasonably practicable steps to consult other immediate family first. The Act's list of immediate family, as Otago quotes it, covers a spouse, civil partner, de facto partner, parent, child, guardian, grandparent, brother, sister, step-child, step-parent, step-brother and step-sister. Otago says that if no living immediate family member can act as the second signatory, the bequest cannot be accepted (University of Otago: How and why).

Which universities take bodies

We could read the published rules of the University of Otago's Department of Anatomy. The rest of this page describes those. The Act allows anatomical examination only at an authorised school of anatomy, so any other New Zealand medical school that takes bequests will have its own criteria, catchment and forms. We could not read another university's rules for this page, so contact its anatomy department directly before you rely on it. Do not assume it follows Otago's rules.

Otago's catchment area

Otago accepts bequests only from people living in these areas, and generally only if the death also happens inside them, because the body must be specially embalmed within 24 hours:

If a donor moves outside these areas, the bequest cannot be accepted, and Otago asks donors who permanently change address to tell the department. A donor who dies outside the area, for example while on holiday, cannot be accepted (University of Otago: How and why).

Why a body can be declined

Otago is clear that registering is not a guarantee: it "endeavours to accept all registered bequests", but the condition of the body and the circumstances of the death may prevent it. Its published checks include whether the person:

• had a BMI greater than 30;
• had an infectious disease such as hepatitis B or C, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or active tuberculosis, or was HIV positive;
• had complicated or extensive major surgery within a month of death;
• showed rapid onset of dementia within six months of death;
• was potentially exposed to, or confirmed with, Covid-19 at the time of passing;
• had a post mortem examination; or
• died outside the accepted area.

The doctor who completes the HP4720 Medical Certificate Cause of Death is asked to check for sepsis, peripheral oedema, ischaemic bowel, a ruptured aortic aneurysm, large open wounds, gangrene and Covid-19. If any of those appear on the certificate, Otago cannot accept the bequest. If the donor never completed a Bequest Registration Form before death, the body cannot be accepted (University of Otago: Acceptance at time of death). A death that goes to the coroner and leads to a post mortem is therefore also a reason for a decline; see what to do when someone dies at home for how that process works.

Organ donation interacts with a bequest. Otago cannot accept a body from which organs have been removed for transplant, so it does not accept bequests from people whose primary wish is to donate organs; a body from which the eyes were removed for corneal grafts is still satisfactory. Our guide to organ donation and funerals covers the choice.

Who pays for what

Otago pays for its special embalming, for transport of the body from the place of death to Dunedin, and for cremating the remains, except where return of the ashes has been requested. The donor's estate still has to register the death in the usual way, and pays the additional cost of individual cremation if the family asks for the ashes. A memorial service can be held without the body, if the donor or family wish, at the estate's expense. There is no usual funeral service with the body present, because it has to be embalmed very soon after death (University of Otago: How and why).

What happens afterwards

Study runs through a teaching year or beyond, so Otago says 18 months or longer normally passes between the death and the final disposal of the remains. Afterwards the remains are cremated at the Dunedin Crematorium, without a service, and the ashes are scattered on a rose garden at Andersons Bay cemetery. Otago says it cannot make special arrangements such as a religious service or a burial, even if the family would pay. It will consider a request for the ashes to be returned to the executor, but asks for it in writing before the body is removed for embalming, and notes that returning ashes limits its teaching and research. Each year it holds a thanksgiving service for donors' families, and a Māori ceremony, a whakawātea, marks the start of the teaching year. If you want a place to scatter or inter ashes later, see what interment means.

The backup plan every family needs

Otago itself says estates should make alternative arrangements in case it cannot accept a registered bequest. A practical backup is any one of these:

• A plan for a simple cremation with no service. FDANZ reports an average of $4,700 for an unattended cremation in 2025, with no range published (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report); see direct cremation costs.
• A funeral director's written estimate, set aside with your will.
• Money set aside or a prepaid plan, if you want one.

Tell your executor and family about both the bequest and the backup, and keep a copy of your registration with your will. Our funeral costs hub sets out what the main options cost.

How funeral and life insurance fit

If a university takes the body, the largest funeral costs fall away, but not all of them, and a decline brings them straight back. Funeral insurance is one way some people prepare for that case. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs; see our funeral insurance guide. Its policy wording says a claimant may need to supply proof such as a death certificate and does not mention a funeral being held. We have not seen the equivalent wording for other insurers, so ask any insurer or prepaid-plan provider whether a claim can be made when a body goes to a university.

The limits are these. In the first 24 months the cover pays only if the death is accidental and happens within 90 days of the accident; for any other death in that window nothing is paid and the premiums for that person are refunded. It is not a savings or investment plan, so the total premiums paid could exceed the benefit, and the benefit may not cover everything. Momentum Life Limited holds an A.M. Best rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026 and in A.M. Best's "Vulnerable" range; see its financial strength page. The buttons below lead to Momentum's products and sit after the content on purpose.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Donate Your Body to Science in NZ: How It Works. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/donating-body-to-science-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

• University of Otago, Department of Anatomy: The bequest of bodies under the Human Tissue Act 2008 (How and why)
• University of Otago, Department of Anatomy: Acceptance at time of death
• Legislation.govt.nz: Human Tissue Act 2008
• FDANZ: 2026 Industry Trends Report
• Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance policy wording
• Momentum Life: Financial strength

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