Whole Body Donation in Georgia — Register with MERI's Genesis Program Today
If you’ve been considering whole body donation in Georgia, our Genesis program makes the decision a lot more straightforward. Registration is simple, and we handle everything, from transportation to death certificate filing to cremation. Your gift allows hands-on medical training that no classroom can ever replicate.
Why Choose MERI’s Genesis Whole Body Donation Program?
Legacy
Your gift helps physicians, surgeons, nurses, and EMTs from all over the country and world train in life-saving techniques that they would otherwise not be able to. The skills they learn will help the patients who depend on them daily.
Financial
The Genesis program covers everything your family in Georgia would have to face. We provide transportation from anywhere in the state, certificate filing, and cremation. Zero invoices, deposits, or hidden fees at the worst possible moment.
Environmental Responsibility
Traditional burials carry with them a significant environmental footprint. A whole body donation followed by a cremation is a far cleaner and more sustainable alternative, one that also leaves a legacy via medical education that outlasts a lifetime.
How to Donate Your Body to Science in Georgia With MERI
Registering for a whole body donation in Georgia isn’t as complicated as it might seem. You can register at any time during your lifetime, or a legal authorizing party can arrange everything at the time of death using the Third-Party Authorization form.
Download and complete the forms
Get started by downloading the Genesis Donor Forms. You can complete them online and print them, or print first and complete by hand. The forms must be signed by two witnesses before mailing. Acrobat reader required to review the form online.
Inform your family or legal authorizing party
Share your wishes with your family or a trusting legal authorizing party so they know to call Genesis at the time of death. Our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Genesis provides transportation from Florida
Once we’re notified, Genesis arranges everything, from transportation to paperwork, including a Florida death certificate.
Donor participates in medical education and research
All donors spend between 6 and 12 months at our facilities, supporting hands-on medical training and giving healthcare professionals the real-world experience they need to make them better at saving lives
How Georgia Body Donors Advance Medicine
MERI’s Memphis facility is where your generosity becomes medical progress. Founded in 1994, MERI is a trusted nonprofit that serves healthcare professionals from all over the world.
The fields that benefit from body donation are specific and critical: surgical training, orthopedic and spine procedures, neurology, emergency response, and the development and testing of new medical devices.
Every single donor is treated with the dignity and respect of a living patient throughout their whole time at MERI. This is a deeply held value that is the core of the Genesis program, from the moment the donor arrives at our facilities to the day the cremated remains are returned to the family.
Georgia Donor Requirements
Most adults 18 and older qualify for whole body donation in Georgia. The majority of medical conditions, prior surgeries, and health histories do not affect eligibility. Acceptance is handled at the time of death based on medical suitability. Pre-registering right now is a good choice if you have questions you want to ask about your unique situation.
Certain conditions will affect acceptance. Active infectious diseases and physical conditions that cannot support a safe learning environment can’t be accepted. BMI is occasionally a consideration. All of these situations will be assessed individually, and the Genesis team is always available if any doubts or concerns arise before you commit.
Georgia is entirely within the Genesis service area. Donors from anywhere in the state qualify for whole body donations.
How to Register for Whole Body Donation in Georgia
You may pre-sign into the body donation program by filling out the donor forms now, or at the time of death, by a legal authorizing party that uses the Third Party Authorization form in the donor packet linked above.
Download the Genesis Donor Forms. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to open the donor forms. Download the donor forms here.)
Complete the forms and then print, OR print first and complete nearly by hand
The completed forms must be hand-signed by the donor and two (2) witnesses before submission.
Send your completed and signed donor forms to the Genesis program address. Forms can also be mailed to you.
Genesis Whole Body Donation Program
Medical Education & Research Institute
44 South Cleveland
Memphis, TN 38104
Donor paperwork can also be sent through fax – (901) 722-9392
No-Cost Cremation
Our Genesis Program offers no-cost cremation for eligible donors and their families. Cremation is fully covered with zero fees at any stage. Cremated remains are returned to a designated loved one or interred in a Memphis-area mausoleum according to the donor’s wishes.
The Genesis Program is currently available to donors in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
Learn More About Whole Body Donation Option
The Genesis Donation Process
Pre-register online at any time, or arrange through a legal authorizing party at the time of death, with no advance notice required. From the moment Genesis is notified, everything is managed at no cost to your family. This includes transportation, paperwork, and cremation.
Frequently Asked Questions About
Whole Body Donation in Georgia
No, Genesis covers all costs, including transportation from Georgia, death certificate processing, and cremation. Not a single expense falls to your family.
Your family will pay for nothing at all. We pay for everything. After the process is done, Genesis will provide them with a letter explaining the specific research and education the donor’s gift contributed to.
Donated bodies support surgical training, orthopedic and spine procedures, neurology, emergency response, and medical device development at MERI’s Memphis facility. MERI cannot specify a single research area.
Most medical conditions and surgical histories do not affect eligibility. Acceptance is assessed at the time of death based on overall medical suitability. Call the Genesis team with specific questions
Genesis serves the entirety of Georgia. Donors from Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Athens, and across the state, including Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Chatham, Richmond, and Muscogee counties, among others.
