Whole Body Donation in Mississippi: How the Genesis Program Works for MS Families
Whole body donation is a generous and personal decision, and Mississippi families can make it through MERI’s Genesis Whole Body Donation Program. Genesis welcomes donors from across the state, from Jackson and Gulfport to Southaven, Hattiesburg, Biloxi, and Meridian, and Mississippi is one of the 19 states it serves. Transportation, the death certificate and cremation are all covered, at no cost to your family.
Mississippi Whole Body Donation
Legacy
One gift can teach for years to come. Through the Genesis Whole Body Donation Program, part of the nonprofit MERI, your gift helps physicians, surgeons and nurses sharpen the skills they later bring to their patients. In time, someone in Mississippi may receive better care because of the choice your loved one made.
Financial
There is nothing for your family to pay, and no waiting period to register, which lifts a real weight at a difficult time. Genesis covers transportation to Memphis, the death certificate, and cremation. Some in-state programs stop short of promising covered transport or the return of cremated remains. Genesis promises both.
Environmental Responsibility
Whole body donation closes with cremation rather than burial, so there is no embalming and no burial plot. For a family already inclined toward cremation, it is a gentler, lower-impact way to give the gift meaning.
Peace of Mind
You can be at ease about the care your loved one receives. MERI is accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks and licensed by the New York State Department of Health. It treats every donor as a living patient, with respect and gratitude throughout.
How to Donate Your Body to Science in Mississippi
You can pre-register for yourself whenever you like, or a legal authorizing party can begin the process at a loved one’s passing. Here is the full path from start to finish.
Sign and submit the Genesis donor registration forms. Registration can be done by you, or by a legal authorizing party on behalf of a loved one.
Your family simply calls Genesis when the time comes, and a caring person walks them through every step.
From anywhere in Mississippi, Genesis covers transportation to MERI in Memphis and files the death certificate, all at no cost.
Your loved one remains in MERI’s care for about 6 to 12 months, supporting hands-on medical education.
The cremated remains are then returned to your family, or interred in a mausoleum in the Memphis area, following your wishes.
How Mississippi Donors Support Medical Education
MERI is a nonprofit bioskills facility at the center of the Memphis Medical District, with six bioskills labs. MERI itself does not teach the courses. It furnishes the facility, the donated tissue and the equipment that medical device companies, surgical societies and health systems use to carry out their own hands-on training. From all over the country, physicians, surgeons, nurses and paramedics come to practice new procedures on donated tissue instead of on a living patient. That, in a quiet way, is what your loved one’s gift allows.
Who Qualifies for Body Donation in Mississippi
Most adults can be donors: you must be at least 18, and there is no upper age limit. Because acceptance is decided at the time of passing based on medical suitability, registering early strengthens the odds, though it can never be a guarantee.
A donor must be free of infectious diseases that could harm a learner, and physically suited to a safe, high-quality learning experience. It helps to read through the general eligibility guidelines before registering.
Genesis serves families across Mississippi and 18 other states. MERI is accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks and licensed by the New York State Department of Health. In Mississippi, anatomical gifts are made under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of Mississippi. It lets any adult of sound mind make the gift for medical education and research.
How to Register for Whole Body Donation in Mississippi
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
Cost is often part of the decision, and that is only natural. Through Genesis, cremation is completely no-cost, along with transportation to Memphis and the death certificate.
Genesis currently serves families in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Learn More About Whole Body Donation in Mississippi
The Genesis Donation Process in Mississippi, Step by Step
Whether you pre-register or a legal authorizing party begins at the time of passing, the process is the same from there.
Frequently Asked Questions About
Mississippi Whole Body Donation
Yes. Genesis covers transportation, the death certificate and cremation, and your family pays nothing at any stage.
After your family calls, Genesis arranges and pays for transportation from the place of passing to Memphis. Your family does not organize it or pay for it.
A donor is typically with MERI for about 6 to 12 months. Afterward, the cremated remains are returned to your family, or interred in a Memphis-area mausoleum, as you wish.
Acceptance is determined at the time of passing and depends on medical suitability, so it cannot be promised ahead of time. A backup plan for cremation or burial is a wise thing to keep.
Yes. Whole body donation does not rule out a memorial. Because the donor is not embalmed, a traditional viewing is not part of the process, so families usually gather to remember their loved one on their own timing.
