How to Complete the Maryland State Anatomy Board Body Donation Form

To register as a body donor in Maryland, complete the Maryland State Anatomy Board body donation form, sign it in front of two qualifying witnesses, and mail the original to the Board’s Baltimore office. The Board accepts registrations only from Maryland residents who are at least 18 and of sound mind, and only from people who pre-register during their lifetime. Processing currently takes up to 60 days because of a backlog.¹

Download the Donor Packet from the “Become a Body Donor” page on the Maryland Department of Health website, or request a mailed copy by calling the Board at (410) 547-1222 or toll-free at (800) 879-2728.²

What to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out

Much of what you put on this form will later appear on your death certificate, so gather everything first and check spellings as you go. The form asks for:

Your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, birthplace, and name at birth (such as a maiden name).
Current address, phone, email, marital status, sex, ethnicity or race, education level, longest-held occupation and type of business, and whether you are a U.S. veteran.
Your father’s full name, your mother’s full name, and your mother’s maiden name.
The name, address, phone, and relationship of a next-of-kin or designated contact the Board will reach after your death.

The next-of-kin section must be filled in regardless of which disposition option you select. For the “longest occupation” field, enter the job you held the longest during your working life rather than writing “retired.”³

You also need to decide, on the form itself, what should happen to your cremated remains after the Board’s study is complete. Three options are offered: burial at the Board’s dedicated site in Sykesville, Maryland; burial at a veterans’ cemetery arranged by the Board; or return of the ashes to the next-of-kin or other named individual in an urn suitable for burial or entombment.¹

Who Can Sign as a Witness

Two witnesses must sign the form when you sign it. Both must be at least 18 and neither can be affiliated with the State Anatomy Board. The two slots are not identical:

Witness 1 can be anyone who meets the age and non-affiliation requirements.
Witness 2 must be a “disinterested witness,” meaning someone who will not benefit financially from your death. A beneficiary of your estate or life insurance policy should not sign in this slot.

Maryland’s Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act also requires at least one disinterested witness for anatomical gifts.⁴

Signing and Mailing the Form

Use blue or black ink and complete every field. Print the form double-sided if you can; the Board prefers that format. Sign and date the donor signature block while both witnesses watch, and have each witness fill in their own name, address, and signature in the designated witness blocks.

The Board accepts only the original signed form sent by postal mail. Do not email it. Do not fax it. Mail the original to:

State Anatomy Board
655 West Baltimore Street
BRB Rm. B-026
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1559³

Keep a photocopy for yourself and give copies to your next of kin, your physician, and anyone likely to be present when you die. Registration currently takes up to 60 days to process.²

Changing Your Information or Canceling the Donation

If your address, next-of-kin contact, or disposition preference changes after you register, do not resubmit the main form. Download the separate Donor Change of Information Form from the Board’s website, complete it with your current details and the revised contact or disposition information, and mail the signed original to the same Baltimore address.⁵

You can revoke the donation at any time before death. Under Maryland’s Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, revocation can be made by a signed writing, so notify the Board in writing to cancel your registration. After your death, surviving family members cannot revoke or change the terms of the donation; the signed form controls.⁴

What Your Family Needs to Know Now

Pre-registration is only the first step. When a registered donor dies, someone has to tell the Board quickly. A nursing home, hospital, or attending doctor should notify the Board immediately. If no physician is present, as when a donor dies at home, the family should call local police first and then contact the Board, which will arrange transport to its Baltimore facility.¹

Two limits are worth telling your family about now. First, pre-registration does not guarantee acceptance. A body may be turned down if it is unsuitable for study, with common reasons across anatomy programs including recent surgery, prior organ donation that significantly altered the body, autopsy, extensive resuscitation, certain infectious diseases, significant decomposition, or extreme body weight. The Board advises donors and families to have a backup funeral plan.

Second, dying outside Maryland shifts costs onto the family. If a registered donor dies in a bordering state, the Board can still accept the body, but the family must transport it to the nearest funeral home inside the Maryland border, pay for death certificate filing in the state of death, and cover the cremation certificate fee. A completed death certificate from the state of death must accompany the body; the Board will not accept or arrange removal without it. For deaths far outside the mid-Atlantic region, the Board’s materials do not describe a process, and transport costs may make donation impractical.¹

1
Maryland Department of Health. Frequently Asked Questions
2
Maryland Department of Health. Become a Body Donor
3
Maryland Department of Health. Maryland State Anatomy Board Body Donation Form
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Estates and Trusts 4-503
5
Maryland Department of Health. State Anatomy Board of Maryland – Anatomical Gift / Body Donation Updating Registration Form