Body donation
Body donation makes an important contribution to the training of future doctors and other healthcare professionals. Anatomical studies and research on human tissue deepen medical expertise, develop new surgical techniques and improve treatment methods, thereby reducing complications. The possibility of donating one’s body for these purposes is regulated in §19(2) point 3 of the Vienna Corpse and Burial Act.
This socially important task requires people like you who are willing to donate their bodies after death in an altruistic manner. Thank you very much for your significant contribution, also on behalf of future patients.
Requirements
For our courses, we are dependent on intact bodies. Therefore, individuals who are severely overweight or underweight, have a contagious disease, have suffered serious accidental injuries or are severely decomposed, or individuals who have undergone a pathological or forensic autopsy cannot be accepted. Certain serious illnesses (e.g. metastatic cancer) may also lead to rejection.
However, heart surgery, the removal of individual organs (e.g. appendix or gallbladder) or joint prostheses are not grounds for exclusion.
We only accept body donors who are at least 50 years of age and have full legal capacity. In addition, they must be resident in Vienna.
Procedure
After reviewing your information and making a positive decision, we will send you your body donor card. Please carry this with you at all times and inform a trusted person about your body donation. Ideally, you should give this person your signed body donation form for safe keeping. If your body donor card is lost, please inform us immediately. Please note that a fee of €10 will be charged for the issue of a replacement card. This fee will be waived if you provide us with a police report of loss or theft. Thank you for your cooperation.
Withdrawal
You may withdraw from the agreement at any time without giving reasons. In this case, we request that you send us a signed original declaration by post. Furthermore, we ask for your understanding that withdrawal can only be made by you personally. Relatives or trusted persons do not have the option of withdrawing.
Costs
– In principle, there are no costs associated with donating your body.
– Transport costs within Vienna are covered by the university.
– We do not cover costs for transfers outside the catchment area (Vienna). We therefore strongly recommend that you take out repatriation insurance.
– Costs for errands, any funeral notices/farewells, etc., post-mortem examination, death certificates, mortuary/refrigeration costs, hospital and institutional services are generally to be borne by the relatives. If the place of death is in Vienna, the municipality of Vienna will cover the costs of the post-mortem examination and mortuary/refrigeration costs. If the relatives do not cover the costs, the contract is considered not fulfilled. In this case, Sigmund Freud Private University is no longer bound by the contract.
Procedure in the event of death
First, a doctor will issue a death certificate. If the deceased did not pass away in a hospital, please contact MA 15 on +43 1 4000 87 890 to arrange for a post-mortem examination. If the deceased passed away in a hospital, a member of staff will contact Bestattung Wien GmbH on +43 50 195 28803, +43 50 195 28804 or +43 50 195 28805 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or on +43 50 195 0 between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. They will transfer your body to the Centre for Anatomy and Molecular Medicine on behalf of the Faculty of Medicine and then contact us for chemical preparation. The preparation is necessary for its contribution to teaching and research, for example in dissection courses, the testing of new surgical techniques or the scientific examination of organs and tissue types. After a certain period of time, which can range from a few months to a few years depending on the procedures, the cremation and burial of the urn takes place in a grave site on the grounds of the Anatomy Memorial at Vienna’s Central Cemetery. A plaque with the details of each body donor is affixed to the memorial stone. If a different burial site is specified in the bequest, the urn is handed over to the relatives named there.
Contact details for reporting a death
In the event of your death, Bestattung Wien GmbH must be notified immediately after release:
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.: +43 50 195 28803, +43 50 195 28804 or +43 50 195 28805
4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.: +43 50 195 0
This is usually done by a member of staff at the hospital.
If you pass away outside of a hospital, MA 15 must be contacted for a post-mortem examination: +43 1 4000 87 890 (available around the clock).
Notification of changes to your data
As a body donor, we kindly request that you notify us of any change of address or other changes to your personal details by emailing kps@med.sfu.ac.at.
Confidentiality and data protection
Your disposition and your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential. Your personal data is subject to legal confidentiality requirements and will be processed in compliance with the applicable data protection regulations. The data will be documented and stored in the body donor card and in the corresponding contract. It will be used exclusively for the purposes of university research and teaching.
Our contact details
Sigmund Freud Private University
Faculty of Medicine
Freudplatz 3
1020 Vienna
Email: kps@med.sfu.ac.at
Contact details for bereaved relatives regarding questions about funeral services, burials, etc.:
Customer service office Simmering / Head office
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Tel.: +43 1 50195 28612, +43 1 50195 28613, +43 1 50195 286136
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