When a donor passes away

In order to be prepared, please read this prior to donating.

Step by step guide

When a loved one passes away, it can be very stressful on family and friends. It helps to designate one point of contact to reach out to the Museum.

Step 1: Notify the Maxwell

When a donor passes, someone (next of kin, power of attorney, the donors nurse) should contact the lab at 505-277-3535. If the donor passes outside of normal business hours you can notify via email by contacting adenning@unm.edu. Please include the name of the donor, your name and relation to the donor, and your contact information when leaving a message.

**If the donor's body requires an autopsy at the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI), please notify OMI that the individual is a Maxwell donor in addition to contacting the Museum. If this is the case, OMI will complete the Death Certificate.

Step 2: Have information ready

When a donor passes away, the Museum is responsible for submitting the Death Certificate. In order to complete this, the following information is required:

Date of Death
Time of Death (is this exact or approximate)
Place of Death (address, and if this location is the residence, hospital, hospice, etc.)
Name and address of the notifying individual
Name and address of who verified the identity of the donor
Name and practice of the certifying physician (who will be signing and certifying the death)

This information can be relayed by a nurse practitioner or hospice nurse overseeing the care of the donor.

You may also be asked for additional information is it is missing from the Donor Information Form (eg, social security number of donor, correct spelling of family members, current address, etc.)

Step 3: Arrange for transport to the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI)

It is the responsibility of the donor's next of kin to arrange for transportation of the body to the Office of the Medical Investigator. This can be done through your preferred funeral home or non-emergency medical transport service.

Please have the funeral home contact us with any questions and to notify us when the body has arrived at OMI. Will will notify OMI to expect the donor as you are making these arrangements.

Please notify the funeral home that the donor is a body donor (several are familiar with our program) and that no embalming should occur. They are simply to act as transport to OMI and to hold the donors body in case of any delays.

Step 4: Contact us for any additional questions

Once the donor's body has arrived at OMI, the donation process is complete. We may contact you with additional questions regarding the Death Certificate. The Death Certificate can take anywhere from 1-5 days to process, depending on the certifying physician and Vital Records.

We do not issue official copies of the Death Certificate like a funeral home would. For official copies of the Death Certificate, please contact the New Mexico Office of Vital Records.