Stanford University’s Anatomical Gift Program (AGP) humbly accepts whole-body donations from donors across the greater Bay Area. A donor’s generosity has the power to enrich the educational experience of countless students who will one day become society’s best trained physicians and scientists. Our donors contribute to important research conducted by Stanford physicians and researchers across multiple disciplines and specialties throughout the School of Medicine.

The selfless decision to donate one’s physical being builds the foundation of our medical education program. Given the importance of such selfless gifts that we receive from our donors, the Division of Clinical Anatomy strives to provide each and every donor with the utmost respect and kindness while in our care. We graciously acknowledge that each donor made the honorable decision to provide our students with invaluable learning experiences and take great pride and responsibility to carefully look after our donors from the moment they enroll into our program through completion.

We recognize that working with our donors is an immense privilege and have strict policies in place to foster a learning environment of dignity and professionalism. Students and trainees are carefully reminded throughout the duration of our courses that all donors deserve the same respect and care afforded to all our patients. Medical students, physician assistant (PA) students, undergraduates, and resident doctor trainees are grateful for the opportunity to work with our donors, who inspire them to become respectful and compassionate healthcare professionals. As one of our medical students expressed after an Anatomy lab session, “This was an experience that will stay with me the rest of my life. I hope I can pay the donors back for their generosity by becoming the best physician I can be”.

Our donors help to instill the important values of compassion and integrity in our students so that they can make a difference in our communities. Stanford University is committed to care for our donors, trainees, scientists, and physicians, and the AGP is fully dedicated in providing this valuable service.