Every Body Has Value: Ending Discriminatory Restrictions on Anatomical Donations.

Abstract

Anatomical body donation plays a critical role in medical education and scientific discovery. Yet, most programs in the United States continue to exclude individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or viral hepatitis, despite modern biosafety protocols and decades of scientific progress. These outdated restrictions are rooted in historical stigma rather than current risk, and they unjustly deny people living with these conditions the opportunity to make a final, meaningful contribution to science. In this Viewpoint, we call for the urgent revision of donor eligibility policies to reflect contemporary understanding of infectious disease transmission and universal precautions. Drawing on examples from end-of-life HIV research and the broader transplant landscape, we argue that inclusion is both scientifically sound and ethically imperative. Every person deserves the dignity of being valued in death as in life, and no body should be excluded based on fear, misinformation, or outdated policy.