The Tamil Nadu government has simplified the process for donating the whole body after one’s demise to a medical college. Whole body donations can be made to any tertiary hospital or teaching hospital, where it will be used solely for the purpose of research or training of students.

The process for someone keen on donating their body is to write to the Dean of any medical college the donor favours, pledging his body for research. The Head of the Anatomy Department would then write back asking the donor to fill in the required forms and send them on with a no-objection certificate from the nearest kith and kin, so that the person can be registered for voluntary donation. An identity card bearing a registration number will be issued later, to identify a donor and facilitate donation. Part of the simplification process involves doing away with requirements such as the legal heir certificate that had to be obtained from the concerned Revenue authority.