Leaving Human Remains for Scientific Research: Anatomy Contracts

Development summary

Hakki Mert Doğu examines the anatomy contract, through which a person leaves their body after death to an institution for scientific examination and research. The study considers the arrangement as a type of disposition upon death and distinguishes between making it by will and by inheritance contract.

It addresses the contract’s definition, the capacity required to make it, its formal requirements and its termination. It also considers whether foreign nationals may make an anatomy contract in Türkiye, in light of private international law and the rules governing organ and tissue transplantation and scientific research on human remains; the analysis concludes that an inheritance contract may also be used.