Respect and dignity for all donors guides every step of the process within the Funeral Service programs, the same as it is for our highly regulated funeral sector in Ontario. Included in this is maintaining the strictest confidentiality and privacy for all donors. Students only receive the age, sex, and potentially the cause of death for the donors they will be studying. In preparation for our annual memorial service, however, families of our donors are asked if they might wish to attend a memorial service we hold annually for donors, and if attendance is desired we strive to make our service more personal. At that service students in the Funeral Service programs who are participating in the service may come to know the identity of donors and their attending family members.

McKinnon and Bowes Ltd. and its representatives, or a specific funeral home of your preference, will gather the required documentation for death registration and body bequeathal. They also will transfer the body from the place of death to Humber College. Some families find it helpful to hold a personal memorial service for their loved one, in addition to attending the annual memorial service held by the College. A funeral director from the funeral home of your choice can help you make arrangements for such a service.

Please ensure you always discuss alternative funeral arrangements with your family and estate trustee in case Humber College is unable to accept the remains.

Anyone may donate their body. There is no age restriction for the body donation program. However, in some cases, the cause of death or limitations of equipment and space may limit our ability to receive a donation.

Humber College Funeral Service Program is often able to accept remains that have been refused by other schools of anatomy or bioscience.

Our Funeral Service program works to prepare our graduates for real life, dealing with real individuals from practically all aspects of physiology and pathology. As a result, we can accept donors who must be rejected by other institutions because of weight, height, causes of death, etc.

The suitability for acceptance will be determined as soon as possible at the time of death.

Your donation makes an incredible impact to the learning of students in our Funeral Directing programs, which then makes a significant impact on grieving families across the province and even internationally, as those students become licensed service providers and care for their communities.

The executor/trustee named in your will has the ultimate authority to consent to your body donation. In the event that you leave no will, your legal next-of-kin has the authority to bequeath your body. Part I of the Donation of Body form is completed by you prior to death, or Part II is completed by your executor/trustee/next-of-kin after death. It is important that you discuss your wishes with your family as a signed donation form is only an indication of a potential donor's wishes, which can be prevented by estate executor/trustee after death. You may also change your mind at any time, so it is important that your current wishes are known to your family.

Organ and tissue donation are a significant way to contribute to society. If a person wishes to donate their body to the Funeral Service programs any form of organ and tissue donation are acceptable – we will be able to use the gift or organ and tissue donation as a significant learning opportunity for our students. If someone has donated an organ or tissues during their lifetime (i.e. liver, kidney, bone marrow) this does not exclude them from donating their body to the Funeral Service programs.

Organ donation is coordinated by Ontario Health's Trillium Gift of Life Network. Further information regarding organ donation can be obtained from Trillium Gift of Life Network.

483 Bay Street, South Tower, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5G 2C9

416.363.4001 or Toll-Free 1.877.363.8456

The Funeral Service programs understand that donation does not necessarily mean families don’t want their loved one’s remains back once work has been completed, and it is our experience that many wish to have cremated remains returned sooner than later. Depending on when the donation occurs we strive to return cremated remains to families who wish, within 5-15 months of donation.

The remains of each donor are kept separate and identifiable and cremated. These remains can be returned to the next-of-kin or interred in the Humber College plot located at Elgin Mills Cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ontario. All expenses for cremation and interment in the Humber College plot are paid for by the Faculty of Health Sciences & Wellness.

Upon a potential donor’s death, a physician or coroner must issue a Medical Proof of Death Certificate. The estate executor/trustee should call McKinnon and Bowes Ltd. 416.465.7508, or 1.800.268.6736. If the body of the donor is accepted, McKinnon and Bowes Ltd. will make the necessary arrangements to transport the body from the place of death. Costs associated with transportation, registration of death in Ontario, and all documentation required by the family will be billed to the estate of the donor.

To register the death the estate executor/trustee should be prepared to provide the donor’s SIN card (or a past tax assessment), proof of birth (or passport or baptismal certificate), and the full names and birth places for both of the donor’s parents. (The parent’s information is required for the Deputy Registrar General, any questions about this information can be directed to the Registrar directly at 1.800.461.2156).

The estate of the deceased will be responsible for payment of the cost of transportation, registration of the death in Ontario, and all documentation required by the family.

To assist the family, a funeral home service appointed by the College will be responsible for the transfer of the deceased from the place of death, for the municipal registration of death on behalf of the family, and for the preparation of the proof of death certificates and any other documentation required by the family. Humber College will take into consideration any preference the family may have for a specific funeral home to be responsible for the above.

Humber College will assume all costs thereafter related to the immediate embalmment, maintenance, cremation, and interment of each of the cremated remains within the Humber College plot at Elgin Mills Cemetery. Alternatively, the family may request retrieval of the remains for private interment at the cost of the estate.