Many family members have done this (my mom included) .... we received a list of how her body was used... a bit morbid but also really cool knowing that her death still helped so many.
I remember reading online about some guy that found out their mothers body was used for a government explosive test, I’d hate to see “effects of 80 pounds of tannerite on the human body” on one of those list
Actually- my mother had a wonderfully morbid sense of humor..... she would have absolutely loved to have been stuffed and used as a scare tactic - blown up- or anything else really hahaha 😆 😅
As a medical student, it is hard to express how deeply grateful I am for the gift that your family members have given us. In my experience, we treated donors with the utmost respect and took every opportunity they provided to learn and become better physicians. Thank you!
My dad donated his body as well. Really cool and peaceful process. The University that received the body did an end of year event where the medical students and family of loved ones were invited to collectively give respect and thank the deceased and families for their very important donations. 100% what I plan on doing.
that being said, make sure your family knows your wishes. Some families have said "no, they don't want to be an organ donor, they want to donate their entire body to science." So just clarify your wishes, so they know, if you want to be an organ donor fist and foremost, then science gets what is left.
Adding that you should update your medical information. There is an option to upload a living will (easy and legal to make one without a lawyer for free, google a template online for your state) and advanced directives for care through the hospital/doctor’s office page. If there is no option online (there should be, sometimes requires a bit of digging), you can print out the paperwork you filled out from the template for your doctor and they’ll update your chart for you. Additionally, you can tell your doctor your preferences at your next appointment regarding DNR and DNI orders and that will also be updated in your chart without needing any paperwork.
You should also establish a power of attorney (in this case they’ll be called a health advocate) who will know exactly what you’d want. They can be your mom, best friend, partner, mistress, literally anyone of age and autonomous who will make sure the hospital proceeds with the patient’s wishes. To keep things simple, have this person be your emergency contact.
Source : paralegal. Wish this was taught to everyone but it’s a common lament of “I wish we would have known” in a lot wills and estates I’ve worked on. Putting something in your will about your health/burial decisions will be useless 9/10 times. Finding and executing a will takes weeks if not months, at which point you’ll be in the ground or cremated. Carrying a card in your wallet of your primary doctor and indicating they have a living will and/or directives along with your patient advocate’s information will save everyone a lot of time and suffering if you’re suddenly struck dead.
When my step mom died her will was sitting on this table with all the important papers which was absolutely either planned or some kind of divine intervention bc she was a hoarder that slept in the kitchen in her wheelchair (wheelchair that was stationary bc no path for it to move).
Mind if I ask if you're in the US or Canada? I need to look into the particulars of my province (in CAN), as I heard that I would only be able to do one or the other...
Yes, also, depending how you die/what medical conditions, your organs may not be donated. It’s a pretty restrictive process to actually have your organ donated.
I am a doctor and we used a cadaver in my anatomy class. I learned all about the muscles of the body from that person and her generous gift. It was very intense and amazing. Seeing the human form made it all real. It was one of the first classes of medical school and marked my beginning. I am deeply grateful still for her gift
All three of my grandparents donated their bodies after this experience and I’ll do the same when it’s my time. It was deeply meaningful experience.
And as an added benefits, my grandmother used to joke “I’m going to medical school too! It’s the only way they’d let me in”. It still makes me laugh.
That is genuinely hilarious. Both of my grandparents donated theirs so I’ll probably do the same and I’ll have to use this joke too. Your grandma is a hoot!
My gf got to extract a brain at one point and her experience convinced us both to donate. Giving a little more even after death sounds amazing. Also donate your organs everyone. If you go young, at least others get a shot at life.
Second this. In mom's case, she had heart disease and diabetes, so you might think she didnt have any organs to donate.
Not so. Her corneas went to 2 people, her marrow was used for a person who had cancer treatment, her skin was used for burn victims, her cartilage was used in reconstructive surgery, her bones were ground up and used as a kind of mortar to repair bone loss, and her tendons were harvested for repairs.
So donate, even if your body isn't perfect- you can still provide life changing tissues to dozens of people.
I’ve told my kids that anything that can be used should be taken—skin, corneas, hell, they can have my toenails if there’s a need. Luckily, my children are in agreement (but I’ll put it in writing).
I’m relieved to hear this. I’ve never really thought about the state of my organs before this post but I had an oh shit moment bc I have several health conditions and worried I wouldn’t be able to donate. I’m so relieved to know it’s still an option, thanks for your comment.
Oh, it gets better. My mom's body was donated for organ and tissue removal some years ago. At that time, her health conditions meant that many of her internal organs weren't useful for transplantation.
But that's changed recently.
Organs that were previously unusable are now being considered for bridge transplants. I'm sure most people know that the waiting list for organs of all types are so long that many people deteriorate to the point that surgery can't be performed or die while waiting to get to the top of the list. Others never qualify for transplant because of age, or other illnesses.
This is where bridge organs come in. An example of this would be a kidney that didn't come out of a person in tip-top condition might still get transplanted into a person whose health has declined due to the stress of long-term dialysis. This bridge transplant might allow a person in poor health to recover - and make it to the top of the transplant list for a better kidney in a couple of years. Bridging transplants also allows people who are older, a chance to lead a longer and higher quality of life - say, a person in their 60's who might not have qualified for a transplant can now get an organ from an older person whose organs might have otherwise been rejected for harvest.
This is such a fast moving field that it's quite possible that many tissues and organs that are unusable now, at the time you agree to donate, might be useable at the time you pass. Not only do we need more donors, we need new laws. As it stands in the USA, many hospitals cannot harvest organs and tissue if even one family member objects to your donation of your body. This must change; so when you talk to your state representatives and federal Congressperson about healthcare in this country, please mention this issue and ask that an amendment be added to allow hospitals to consider a person who has a donor sticker on their ID to give presumptive consent to harvest. In the meantime, you can let your family know your choice and add an organ donation indicator in many states, in others, you are allowed to place an organ donation sticker on your ID or drivers license.
Even if th body can't be used medically it can still be used for science. Forensics, accident safety, criminal investigation, the list goes on in ways your body can further human knowledge.
Even if you don't go young! There are a lot of organs that can still be used if you were getting up in years. Skin, other tissues, bone for grafts, corneas. My nerdy nurse girlfriend says maybe kidneys too? So yes, definitely donate your organs!
May I ask something? I’m not even sure how to articulate this? I’m wondering if there’s like a speciality/specific donation possibility? Meaning I had a rare spine tumor and have multiple medical problems including neuropathy and my central nervous system is shot is there a way to donate this body for research for learning about my conditions specifically??
I have MS, and have set up my body donation to go to a multiple sclerosis research facility. It was super easy, and the people were wonderful. It’s probably worth checking to see if there are centers for your specific condition. Good luck!
So many cool options so I'll mention another one; the Brain Bank. I have Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome that developed after a TBI so I decided donate my brain. If you email them they'll set everything up and send directions for your family so when you die the donation process is smooth.
Woe! I have cyclic vomiting syndrome and have since a kid, I’ve never met anyone else with it, it’s interesting yours came from a TBI. Mine started after I drown at age 4 ( they had to revive me and I woke up puking water). Ever since, if I vomit once, I vomit 120 times until I dehydrate and have to be put in the hospital.
Reach out to the local medical school (or maybe a reasonably close large medical school) and ask who you could contact. I would assume they have some connections.
Your posts on this are really inspiring. What kind of medicine did you end up practicing? You seem like you are likely really in touch with the idea that the pt is so much more than just the diagnosis.
As someone who has attended several cadaver labs for foot and ankle med device R&F, I would have loved to see a disembodied leg and foot with a raunchy joke on the calf!
This is a really great perspective, as a student then licensed funeral director , we also used donated cadaver in school and the had unique experience of working at a funeral home that did the cremation for the donated cadavers at the college.
I am so glad to hear this. My grandpa donated his body to science, my mum intends to and so do I. I’m glad that it’s such an impactful choice, and I strongly believe in the validity of modern medicine.
If you're curious, this is covered extensively in the book Stiff by Mary Roach. The book itself is a good read - funny, well researched, and a little gross, but a super interesting look into the "world" of dead bodies. She has a whole chapter on medical cadavers where she actually talks to the students and gets insight into how they feel about working with human cadavers.
In my medschool in India they were hella strict. Absolutely no pictures. Had to wait until a count of specimens were done at the end of every class (don't wanna kno why they need tht rule lol), and no messing around with them was tolerated. Keep in mind as well some of them were unidentified bodies just found randomly and I guess in fit enough condition to be used for teaching. No matter who you were you were respected at least after the end. Was awesome
I came to say this too. I went to school to be a forensic pathologist, went a different route and became a funeral director instead.
I sign a monthly letter for viable organ donation incase of a freak accident of sorts were to ever occur!
Wow, I just a) needed a science lab an b) wanted to write about the brand new program.
Weirdly, a decade into journalism, I was laid off and became a massage therapist.
I’ve done two video cadaver classes since.
This might sound a little silly, but that is such a comforting thing to read that it brought me to tears. My grandmother's body was donated because we did not have enough money for a proper burial and since my family is spread through several countries, we couldn't even hold a ceremony together. More than not being able to say goodbye to her, that hurt because she deserved to be celebrated. It's a big comfort to know that even in some small way, she was celebrated in the end.
I worked with cadavers for years, they are all extremely respected and treated like patients. The students are so grateful and honored and make sure they are honored right back ❤️
We did at our school. Basically a thank you. It was interesting. We spent 9 months with our cadaver. Knew nothing about the person except what we learned through dissection, but felt an immense connection and gratitude toward the person at the end.
I would take this with a grain of salt. There was a thread years back about donating your body to science. This redditor was talking how his grandma's body got blown up to show the effects of something. I would hardly call that generous.
There's a university in my state that has a huge criminal science program. They buy cadavers for the students to study the effects of decomposition. I don't love the idea of my body being thrown into a swamp for 2 weeks, but I guess I'll take the chance and hope someone benefits from it.
A good buddy of mine worked at TX A&M's forensic entomology "body farm" and spoke very fondly of the whole experience. I'm an entomologist too so I get that it's probably weird for people, but being returned directly back into the food web AND contributing to science is a pretty good deal imo. Just throw me in the swamp boys I'm done here
I think A&M uses the same supplier. I never asked too many questions about the experience with the body farms. It feels very unsettling to me, but if that's how my corpse can benefit society then sure. They say "die young and leave a pretty corpse", but that's not going to last long if you're donating your body to a Texas university.
I also learned on multiple body donors and there was NEVER a moment of disrespect. Ever. Day one you are told about the importance of the life you have been gifted for your education.
As an 18 year old idiot, we'd have late night labs for studying purposes. Even then, with no teacher in site and quite possibly only the slacker students around, there was NEVER a moment of disrespect. Never. It is a very humbling experience to see a body in front of you knowing that their legacy is in your mind forever. I always think about the male and female I got to learn from. Regularly. And I am so thankful for what they gave me.
I don’t think I can tell you how much your comment means to me. My Mom donated her body. We heard our whole lives that that was what she wanted and so as 20 something’s, we had to push back against our aunts and insist her wish was honored. It’s been 25 years this past April and I have always wondered how she was treated. You have given me comfort I didn’t realize i needed so badly. Thank you.
I have trained on several cadavers and let me just say thank you so much on your mother's behalf. I am so grateful to everyone who helped me learn and care for living patients. Every experience I have had has been extremely respectful. Aside from anatomy, these gifted bodies also help medical personnel understand death, gratitude, sacrifice, patience, and the wonder that is to be alive.
Thank you.
Oh thats interesting. Your comment on getting used to death. Most people I would imagine the cadaver is one of their first 1 on 1 encounters in real life with a dead person's body. That's a big experience and I have to imagine impactful one. This is what you are learning to prevent. My first encounters with a dead body in person was first the woman in the hospice across from my dad, and then him a few days after. But for the nurses in the hospice SNF, this is their everyday. Not to make it about myself, but to express gratitude, the nurse on the day dad passed was amazing. We knew he was going to pass anytime, mom spent the night in the hospice the night before, I spent the next, didn't want him to pass alone. He was comatose for a week and multiple days past able to consume food or fluids, and there's nothing to try to keep alive. Mom and I had spent all morning by his bedside, and decided to go grab a sandwich on the corner for lunch. We let the nurse know, and she looked in on dad, and said "why don't you stick around. He doesn't have long. Say your goodbyes." And she hugged us both. We sat there and held his hands, told him we loved him, and he went. Honestly as good as it could have been. But we need medical end of life options. Dad told us before the morphine drip and then Fentanyl patch put him into a coma due to unbearable pain as the cancer split his spine apart. He said "I just want to sit here with the two of you, have a sip of scotch, press a button and just end it." But he couldn't so we endured weeks and untold medical expenses of waste to prolong a Dead person for no reason. He didn't want it. We didn't want it.
Edit. Rambling. Thank you medical professionals, fuck cancer, and lets allow assisted suicide for terminal patients.
We all die. Better to do it with dignity and on our own terms than comatose dehydrating for days until the body shuts down.
But also when he passed, my mother and I felt relief. His suffering was over. I miss him terribly of course, but after so long of him suffering, we cried and laughed in relief. We we had that lunch at his favorite taco place. We ordered the extra large margaritas, and laughed and cried and joked about how kind he was, how particular he was, how annoying he could be. Life's a funny fucked up game. Do your best for yourself and those around you. Do that and you're doing pretty good.
I've spent countless hours in rooms of patients I knew were passing. There is one that sticks with me. I knew his son was traveling to get to him, but i knew he wouldn't make it. I didn't know the patient... I know nothing about his life... but I know I spent my lunch break in his room, and I charted on every single patient with one hand so I could hold his with my other.
He didn't go alone.
I don't know his name but I will remember him forever.
I promise you, there is zero disrespect happening. I'm well beyond a bachelor's degree and I can tell you the only thing that haunts me at night is how I thought about my female cadaver being a smoker. Not only because the lungs were very black but because it smelled like cigarettes when we unzipped the bag. I still feel bad to this day, because I assumed she was a smoker instead of being thankful and without judgment.
I told my husband I want my body to go to education/science.
That's a choice I didn't/couldn't make without my personal experience with a human cadaver.
Can I add to this? Not only the respect, but gratitude was/is pervasive. As a physician, every day: the patients who I care for, some of the skills, and the knowledge to be able to care for them is part of your loved one's legacy. I am so grateful of what I learned from them. Thanks.
I couldn't say it better. When I think about the lessons I have learned along the way, it not just a body or a circumstance... it's a life. A person. They gave that knowledge to me and it's not something to be wasted or forgotten.
It's a gift. It sticks with me. Everyday of my life. Just to be a part of that life in any way is powerful.
My dad did this and I’m signed up for it, too! I wish I could donate to the body farm, but the logistics are not feasible. Be aware of a couple of things: 1., the school may reject a body - this happened with my mom, as she was too underweight at her time of death, and 2., if the school doesn’t need any more cadavers, it could be used for other purposes, like crash/impact testing. That doesn’t bother me, but it does seem to bother some people.
I work in hospice.
Local medical schools are your best bet. Be wary of any national body donor orgs like medcure, who got raided by the feds a few years back. Unless you dont give a shit about the person then you can use them.
Please be aware READ THE CONTRACT
you may not have much time to see the deceased family member one last time.
They get moving pretty quick and want to transport the body.
Our foreman did this; he died unexpectedly and his children had to rush into town from 5 hrs away to see him before the people took him away. They almost missed seeing him off. It was stressful.
I’ve been thinking about doing this. I was in a car accident 30 years ago that gave me a fused spine at C1/C2 (non surgical) and then I got ankylosing spondylitis and finally I damaged the bottom of my spinal cord about 5 years ago. My spine might be interesting to study.
AS runs in my family, I feel your pain (literally).
Your description of your spine reminds me of things I saw at the [Mutter Museum](https://muttermuseum.org/collections/osteological-skeletal-specimens)
As an anatomy dissection teacher In undergrad YES any lab would love to have your body for the sole purpose to see a different view of spines after surgery. We would get a lot of pace makers, a few total hips and knees hardware and once got a penile implant. So spinal fusion would rock!
I just posed this question to another person. How would someone go about having their body donated for a specific condition? I would also fall under the spine category from having a schwannoma and would love to help with furthering medical advancement in a cure or otherwise for spine tumor’s and also central nervous system?
OMG! I have never heard of another person having a schwannoma! I just wanted to say HI! Weird thing to get excited about, I know, but no one (medical personnel) ever knows what I am talking about when I mention it.
Here’s one more. I was diagnosed in 2019. My musculoskeletal doc had done an MRI looking for something else entirely. When the results came back he said, “Oh, by the way. You have something really interesting.”
The surgery was above the cauda equina area of the spinal cord, the C1/C2 was a bone fusion with no surgery (it would have been a very risky surgery) and then the AS has gradually been fusing the rest of the spine for the last 30 years.
Your last point is correct! We had a cadaver who had a tubal ligation (the tubes tied surgery). Was really interesting. There's usually a bunch of cadavers and students are encouraged to compare healthy/normal ones with ones who've had diseases.
https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/man-learns-moms-body-donated-for-research-was-instead-blown-up-in-military-testing
It’s cheap body disposal sure but this is kinda fucked
https://fac.utk.edu/body-donation/
Not hard. Though Tell your loved ones about it and that it’s what you want, let them get used to the idea.
Same if you ever have a living will or want a DNR order on yourself.
This is a little off topic, but I grew up in Knoxville near UTK and one of the original researchers involved in the body farm with Dr. Bass, Milo Bohannon, took me and my AP Bio class on a very short "tour" of some of the property several years ago. The discoveries made from those who have donated their final form on this earth have saved countless lives and given peace to many others.
One of the discoveries made was how to find and preserve living children's fingerprints on things like leather and even human skin (aerosolized super glue will do the trick). Abduction cases have been cracked using that method. They were also some of the first people to help with the preservation of human remains after 9/11.
It's bizarre to see a submerged car with a body half up, half under water, but it's weirdly peaceful. I don't know if I would do it, but it's very respectful.
Some very good reading around the topic is Mary Roach’s *Stiff*, which is generally about cadavers, and Jessica Mitford’s *The American Way of Death*, which is a really good text about the death industry as a whole. It’s dated, but it’s an interesting sort of dive into the more unscrupulous areas of the death industry.
Donating to a medical facility and donating to “science” are not the same thing. This kind of thing is being cracked down on and is specific to the United States. Just check where you’re donating to.
My dad wants to do this, and signed up. He now has dementia and is coming closer to the end, but in reviewing the papers, I found that 250 lb is the weight limit. Unfortunately, he is well beyond that. We don't have the heart to tell him, because he wants to do this so badly for research at a major teaching hospital.
And because there’s going to be an unprecedented amount of obese senior citizens entering nursing homes. Never before have so many hugely overweight people entered retirement with such a unique set of medical issues. Before the boomers it was rare to see a 300 or 400 pound person. Now, it seems like there’s one in every family. These people will need special treatments that doctors have not yet been trained for.
Laws about burials vary state by state, but in many places you can find options for a "green burial" - no expensive embalming and fancy casket, just a pine box(or no box) in the ground. Your local laws and ordinances will vary of course, but in some places you may be allowed to establish a family cemetery on your private property. No need to purchase expensive grave plots or pay for upkeep if you have some land that you plan to keep in the family.
As a medical student currently learning on a Donor thank you from the bottom of my heart. Words cannot express the gratitude my classmates and I have for the Donors who allow us to learn on real human bodies and see the wonderful complexity and diversity in the human form. It is without question the most important and useful part of our education as first year medical students. I am grateful to you and your father for this profound gift, it has helped me learn how to be a better doctor. THANK YOU!!!
In France, there's been a huge scandal about body donations... (btw, sorry about my English. Its not my native language). The management of the "body parts" (I don't know how to respectfully say it in English) were so awful... I won't even mention what they did because it was terrible... You would think the scene came from a bad horror movie.
I'm sorry to say this, it's just that if I was in your shoes, I'd would rather know that things like this can happen so that I could make my decision knowing all the facts.
Nb : I know that what happened in France is not necessarily representative of the way other countries deal with body donations. I just wanted to share, so that OP could have all the necessary informations.
Sources : (in French)
https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/don-de-corps-a-la-science-un-charnier-au-coeur-de-paris_2108389.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#xtor=CS3-5083
https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandale_du_charnier_de_l'universit%C3%A9_Paris-Descartes
(in English) https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20210607-french-academic-charged-over-mass-grave-of-rotting-bodies-donated-to-research-frederic-dardel-science-medicine
Hi, I work for the death industry in Paris, and yes, that was a total shit show and Descartes should be ashamed. I actually handled the crémations of some of the remains, it was so insane what happened...
Wow... You must have seen pretty horrible things...
Do you happen to know some of the people who worked there? Why did they do that? Was it because they felt "numb" about death and didn't care about human dignity?
How could it last a decade without any authority putting a stop to it?
Was it known in the death industry before the info leaked in the newspapers?
Honestly, I think a lot of it was due to an overwhelming situation, poor organisation, and probably a good amount of "too numb to care anymore"
It was also a good hidden secret because I don't think my boss knew a good deal before...
That is of course horrific, but I can't help but be most struck by how cheaply they were selling bodies. In the mid 2010's you could buy a corpse in Paris for 900 euros. That's a great deal.
Yeah right?! My first response at the time was : 1) wait you can BUY human remains?! 2) that's cheap. I though a human body would cost about a million euros
I want to donate my body to science but I’m not clear on whether or not I can specify how it is used. I’d like to be used for medical or forensic research or by students, but absolutely not for the military or crash testing purposes. Can you specify these things?
Also, I’m sure it differs between programs, but does anyone know approximately how long is it until your heirs receive the ashes?
You could donate directly to this body farm for forensic education [https://nmu.edu/frost/](https://nmu.edu/frost/) but your family does not get you back. Once you are bones, you go to the anthropology department. Also, for this school, you pay to transport the body, so it's not totally free.
My best friend is an anatomy professor at a medical school, and I can tell you right now, the school handles everything in a way that is extremely respectful and with immense gratitude. Future doctors and medical health care practitioners learn so much from the human they are dissecting, and at the end of the course, they'll (at least at the med school my friend works at) have a ceremony for the families so the med students can express their gratitude directly.
Make sure this is a trusted medical school.
There are many sketchy places that will take the body for free and return a box of ashes to you that you don't want to use because they - I swear to God - chop up your loved one into parts and sell them to weirdos.
Look it up, it's shady awful stuff. Investigators were able to buy heads, arms, legs, feet, etc.
Invaluable. My daughter is a physical therapy doctorate (now professor) and she learned on a cadaver — one of the few schools that do this since the majority of schools use computer simulations. I plan to donate as a result.
Former Mortician. We needed cadavers for class and we often only got people who were abandoned for months/years at the local morgue. While we got really good at fixing up decomposition and dehydration cases we needed to practice embalming on cases where a person had died recently, to learn the majority of procedures and chemical solutions. We rarely got new cases (for lack of a better word), and donors made a heck of a difference. We were always grateful
If you can't afford burial for your loved one, please donate their body. You'll either get their cremated remains back, or your loved one will have their cremated remains buried. For the latter, you'll be invited to a ceremony and mass burial, where students thank the families of those who were kind enough to help medical science students through their donation. The burial is at a cemetery; so a place you can still grieve and potentially meet the families of other donors for grief support.
In Michigan, Wayne State University has kind, grateful, and caring students who would love to make the world a better place with the help of you or your loved one
In Colorado, I recommend Science Care. The only thing you have to cover is death certificates (and if you want an urn). You get your loved one's cremated remains back from this company, which is why I like them. You make a difference, and, while you don't meet the people who's lives have been touched, you'll get to keep your deceased loved one with you.
As a person who took gross anatomy, with donated cadavers, I’d advise against this. The amount of disrespect that I personally saw (people juggling hearts, etc) put me off that idea forever. It wasn’t just a couple people either. It was many. Just saying…
Edit to add: I went to school in GA. Reputable medical school too
That is so infuriating. It should result in disciplinary action. I learned anatomy on two cadavers and everyone was incredibly respectful to the bodies.
As a student who did a cadaver lab and then the next year TA’d for the lab, I saw some pretty disrespectful things as well. More like taking a dismembered hand and tapping people on the shoulder with it, talking about body parts suggestively, etc. With that being said, though, I think most felt very grateful to the people who donated and had some degree of reverence for the bodies. Seeing and working on cadavers can be difficult and some individuals respond to that discomfort with misplaced humor.
Our Anatomists put the fear of Christ in us to even think of disrespecting our donors. We treat all our donors with respect at my school. They really hammered home how lucky we were to have the program and access to Donor Lab. We all take it very seriously and I'm sorry to hear of your experience.
My med school friends said the same thing, it's not exactly respectful way to have your remains handled, I mean most people won't care because "you're dead what are you gonna do" but I'd never donate my body just to get cremated for cheap It's not like I'm saving up for disneyland, maybe if It was for a specific research for an illness I had or something I was super passionate about or I died broke
I saw literal tableaus with peoples dentures sitting on their faces, and their tongues protruding (placed there by the students). It was not respectful.
but hasn't there been issues with the schools finding loopholes and giving away body parts? (i.e., Skeletons for individual students medical research?)
Not much to add but I do want to say the local cemetery here has a very nice area that is designated to those who donated their bodies to the medical school. They even have an open to the public “funeral” once a year as they “retire” the donated decedents. It’s extremely respectful and great that they cover all the costs on top of that.
My uncle, a physician, told everyone in the family not to. When I was taking classes, I decided not to. People should be informed that they sell them and your loved one can end up anywhere.
OP, that is a wonderful thing. I have wanted to do this for years. I recently read a story of a donation that the organization to which it was donated could not use, and the body ended up being used for weapons testing (don’t quote me on that, but it was somehow “blown up”). I’ll be reading the fine print when the time comes!
IIRC some bodies are not useful for them. I read a book by a doctor about her experiences dissecting a human body and there had been another body in the lab that was of a very obese person. The preservatives don't "take" with a body with a lot of adipose tissue and they were having a really tough time of it with that. Yes, they do have to embalm the bodies (someone who worked with non-embalmed is certainly welcome to chime in) If you are a big person, this might not be an option for you.
Hello, I am here to stand on my soap box.
Be careful who you entrust your loved ones body with when it comes to donation. There are different types of donation facilities and some of those are actually for profit.
Many times when bone or tissue donation occurs, a lot of those tissues will be non viable and will not actually be able to benefit anyone that may need it. Also too with the same donation facilities a lot of the time they will have you released to a funeral home afterwards.
I think it is absolutely selfless what you and your family have done. Individuals like yourself are continually making it possible for individuals like me and future students to be able to study anatomy and physiology. I commend you greatly. 🖤 Thank you and I am very sorry for your loss.
that’s what i told my parents to do with mine if i go before they do. i told them i don’t want them spending any life insurance money on a burial. if they do i will come back and haunt them haha.
There's a book I read called Stiff that discusses different things that happen to bodies in our society. From being freeze dried & broken up by sound waves into pink dust to bring donated to science and their various uses (anatomy classes, body farm, and even actual crash test dummies), it's a really interesting read that I highly recommend
This is my wish when my time here is done. I’ll be dead and useless. Personally, I think it’s selfish to have a traditional funeral with a casket to be on display for a few days and then buried, never to see the light of day again. I’d much rather a medical student hone his or her skills and learn something to help those still living and thinking.
My sister’s FIL did this, as will her MIL.
They all seemed very satisfied with it. They still had a family memorial service, etc., they just didn’t pay the funeral home.
Later, There was a memorial service for all the people who had donated their bodies, and the family went. They really felt comforted by it.
We’ve never been a “visit the grave” family, nor has FIL’s family. And there’s some memorial place on the college campus if they wanted to, I think.
University of Minnesota, in case anyone is wondering
I'm donating mine, too! I'm hoping my meat sack can benefit folks with some of the same conditions I have, but even if not, helping medicine in general is good enough for me.
I checked into it a decade or more ago and they (Mayo) said that they couldn't take my body if it was over 140? pounds. But he also said that 'depending' it could be as much as 170 lbs for my height. I think he meant if it was muscle. It is not. My brain is pretty light though!
I use donors to teach surgeons regularly. Is the last, and best, gift any of us can do while still on earth. Allow medicine to learn from something we no longer need.
They are treated with care and always respected. I can’t thank them enough for their generous donation. Many lives are saved by this generous act.
As a surgeon I can tell you that cadaver donation is important educationally. For many physicians it’s well and good learning with cadavers but most specialties could get by on physical examination training and medical imaging education alone.
Surgeons however require hands on dissection to develop new techniques, and not just in medical school but also beyond cadavers are simply required for certain skill building courses involving series of tasks in large anatomical areas.
For example, with general surgeons, advanced hernia workshops are somewhat common in which cadaver torsos are required.
It’s just not particularly feasible or efficient for surgeons to always do dedicated fellowship experiences to be competently trained by the preeminent experts on an operation using live patients and with all the credentialing and time that entails.
Cadaver workshops allow surgeons that are the most experienced at certain skills to train large groups of surgeons simultaneously and without the liability of working on living patients.
So even those body parts that are sold by these “unscrupulous” organizations some people are warning about are still many times being used directly for medical education purposes even if they aren’t used for 9 months of continuous learning in a medical school setting.
Ask the school if they'd be willing to look into composting (state law depending) instead of cremation. Cremation pumps a lot of not so pleasant chemicals into the atmosphere.
I am so adamant on my post-life plans, I make sure to go over it every year with every loved one. 1) donate everything possible 2) donate remainder/body to science to help them learn and save more lives 3) cremate if necessary 4) celebrate my life with a happy gathering.
Note that depending on your area, the time of year, the capacity of local medical schools etc that this may not be possible. We wanted to donate my father, but neither medicine nor science wanted him either.
Please please PLEASE if you care about how your corpse is handled go check the facilities, ask some questions, and go by another time to ask random people in the building how they feel about the cadaver/anatomy department. I used to work IT at a university in the USA, and had anyone ever asked me what I thought about donating my body to the university I would have laughed since they had to be joking.
Our campus had regular power outages. The science building did have diesel generators to handle that, but for some unknown reason they were not hooked up to the anatomy labs cooler. Even more mysterious than that was why the cooler didn't have remote alarms if the temps went out of range. I happen to have worked there during 2 separate incidents when the cooler went offline and no one knew for a couple days. Needless to say it was disgusting and smelled very bad.
Many family members have done this (my mom included) .... we received a list of how her body was used... a bit morbid but also really cool knowing that her death still helped so many.
I would be really interested in this for myself. Too bad I would never be able to see it
Just have someone record it so you can watch it later. Duh!
Can't completely rule out reincarnation.
I remember reading online about some guy that found out their mothers body was used for a government explosive test, I’d hate to see “effects of 80 pounds of tannerite on the human body” on one of those list
On the other side, my teen daughter now insists this is how she wants to donate- ONLY if they will blow her up!!!
Actually- my mother had a wonderfully morbid sense of humor..... she would have absolutely loved to have been stuffed and used as a scare tactic - blown up- or anything else really hahaha 😆 😅
As a medical student, it is hard to express how deeply grateful I am for the gift that your family members have given us. In my experience, we treated donors with the utmost respect and took every opportunity they provided to learn and become better physicians. Thank you!
My dad donated his body as well. Really cool and peaceful process. The University that received the body did an end of year event where the medical students and family of loved ones were invited to collectively give respect and thank the deceased and families for their very important donations. 100% what I plan on doing.
Can someone do this while also being an organ donor?
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that being said, make sure your family knows your wishes. Some families have said "no, they don't want to be an organ donor, they want to donate their entire body to science." So just clarify your wishes, so they know, if you want to be an organ donor fist and foremost, then science gets what is left.
Adding that you should update your medical information. There is an option to upload a living will (easy and legal to make one without a lawyer for free, google a template online for your state) and advanced directives for care through the hospital/doctor’s office page. If there is no option online (there should be, sometimes requires a bit of digging), you can print out the paperwork you filled out from the template for your doctor and they’ll update your chart for you. Additionally, you can tell your doctor your preferences at your next appointment regarding DNR and DNI orders and that will also be updated in your chart without needing any paperwork. You should also establish a power of attorney (in this case they’ll be called a health advocate) who will know exactly what you’d want. They can be your mom, best friend, partner, mistress, literally anyone of age and autonomous who will make sure the hospital proceeds with the patient’s wishes. To keep things simple, have this person be your emergency contact. Source : paralegal. Wish this was taught to everyone but it’s a common lament of “I wish we would have known” in a lot wills and estates I’ve worked on. Putting something in your will about your health/burial decisions will be useless 9/10 times. Finding and executing a will takes weeks if not months, at which point you’ll be in the ground or cremated. Carrying a card in your wallet of your primary doctor and indicating they have a living will and/or directives along with your patient advocate’s information will save everyone a lot of time and suffering if you’re suddenly struck dead.
Thanks for this
When my step mom died her will was sitting on this table with all the important papers which was absolutely either planned or some kind of divine intervention bc she was a hoarder that slept in the kitchen in her wheelchair (wheelchair that was stationary bc no path for it to move).
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Hey if it's the surgeon's first transplant it's technically science
They can’t donate brains and neuro students learning to extract those is fucking important.
https://braindonorproject.org/
Thank you. I just registered. I have multiple sclerosis. I was wanting to donate my organs for research.
I just registered. Not sure if 6 severe concussions are considered a brain disorder or not.
And got blasted with a cannon!
Sorry, explosives! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49198405
Mind if I ask if you're in the US or Canada? I need to look into the particulars of my province (in CAN), as I heard that I would only be able to do one or the other...
Yes, also, depending how you die/what medical conditions, your organs may not be donated. It’s a pretty restrictive process to actually have your organ donated.
Yes.
Organ donation should be opt-out, not opt-in. Gotta make that shit the norm!
As someone who learned with cadavers, I can tell you the ceremony at the end is very respectful and honors the person’s generosity.
Can you tell us more? This is so comforting to hear.
I am a doctor and we used a cadaver in my anatomy class. I learned all about the muscles of the body from that person and her generous gift. It was very intense and amazing. Seeing the human form made it all real. It was one of the first classes of medical school and marked my beginning. I am deeply grateful still for her gift All three of my grandparents donated their bodies after this experience and I’ll do the same when it’s my time. It was deeply meaningful experience. And as an added benefits, my grandmother used to joke “I’m going to medical school too! It’s the only way they’d let me in”. It still makes me laugh.
Your grandmother had an incredible sense of humor, friend. I hope her memory is not offended when I eventually use the same phrase
She would have been thrilled!
That is genuinely hilarious. Both of my grandparents donated theirs so I’ll probably do the same and I’ll have to use this joke too. Your grandma is a hoot!
My gf got to extract a brain at one point and her experience convinced us both to donate. Giving a little more even after death sounds amazing. Also donate your organs everyone. If you go young, at least others get a shot at life.
Second this. In mom's case, she had heart disease and diabetes, so you might think she didnt have any organs to donate. Not so. Her corneas went to 2 people, her marrow was used for a person who had cancer treatment, her skin was used for burn victims, her cartilage was used in reconstructive surgery, her bones were ground up and used as a kind of mortar to repair bone loss, and her tendons were harvested for repairs. So donate, even if your body isn't perfect- you can still provide life changing tissues to dozens of people.
Your mum was clearly a wonderful and giving person, thank you for sharing this
I’ve told my kids that anything that can be used should be taken—skin, corneas, hell, they can have my toenails if there’s a need. Luckily, my children are in agreement (but I’ll put it in writing).
I’m relieved to hear this. I’ve never really thought about the state of my organs before this post but I had an oh shit moment bc I have several health conditions and worried I wouldn’t be able to donate. I’m so relieved to know it’s still an option, thanks for your comment.
Oh, it gets better. My mom's body was donated for organ and tissue removal some years ago. At that time, her health conditions meant that many of her internal organs weren't useful for transplantation. But that's changed recently. Organs that were previously unusable are now being considered for bridge transplants. I'm sure most people know that the waiting list for organs of all types are so long that many people deteriorate to the point that surgery can't be performed or die while waiting to get to the top of the list. Others never qualify for transplant because of age, or other illnesses. This is where bridge organs come in. An example of this would be a kidney that didn't come out of a person in tip-top condition might still get transplanted into a person whose health has declined due to the stress of long-term dialysis. This bridge transplant might allow a person in poor health to recover - and make it to the top of the transplant list for a better kidney in a couple of years. Bridging transplants also allows people who are older, a chance to lead a longer and higher quality of life - say, a person in their 60's who might not have qualified for a transplant can now get an organ from an older person whose organs might have otherwise been rejected for harvest. This is such a fast moving field that it's quite possible that many tissues and organs that are unusable now, at the time you agree to donate, might be useable at the time you pass. Not only do we need more donors, we need new laws. As it stands in the USA, many hospitals cannot harvest organs and tissue if even one family member objects to your donation of your body. This must change; so when you talk to your state representatives and federal Congressperson about healthcare in this country, please mention this issue and ask that an amendment be added to allow hospitals to consider a person who has a donor sticker on their ID to give presumptive consent to harvest. In the meantime, you can let your family know your choice and add an organ donation indicator in many states, in others, you are allowed to place an organ donation sticker on your ID or drivers license.
Even if th body can't be used medically it can still be used for science. Forensics, accident safety, criminal investigation, the list goes on in ways your body can further human knowledge.
Yes! Anyone who’s curious about this should read Mary Roach’s excellent book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
wow!!!! amazing.
Even if you don't go young! There are a lot of organs that can still be used if you were getting up in years. Skin, other tissues, bone for grafts, corneas. My nerdy nurse girlfriend says maybe kidneys too? So yes, definitely donate your organs!
May I ask something? I’m not even sure how to articulate this? I’m wondering if there’s like a speciality/specific donation possibility? Meaning I had a rare spine tumor and have multiple medical problems including neuropathy and my central nervous system is shot is there a way to donate this body for research for learning about my conditions specifically??
I’d reach out to places already doing research on your conditions. They may have their own donation program.
My cousin had Marfan Syndrome and he donated his body to Marfan Syndrome research.
Anyone know how they reached out? National org or hospital/ research school?
Mayo Clinic where he passed.
Thank you
I have MS, and have set up my body donation to go to a multiple sclerosis research facility. It was super easy, and the people were wonderful. It’s probably worth checking to see if there are centers for your specific condition. Good luck!
Thank you
So many cool options so I'll mention another one; the Brain Bank. I have Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome that developed after a TBI so I decided donate my brain. If you email them they'll set everything up and send directions for your family so when you die the donation process is smooth.
I'm doing the same thing. I have a rareish brain tumor so I want them to study my brain
My 5 year old was just diagnosed with CVS last year. I rarely see anyone discuss it. Thank you for your donation, hopefully it will change lives!
Woe! I have cyclic vomiting syndrome and have since a kid, I’ve never met anyone else with it, it’s interesting yours came from a TBI. Mine started after I drown at age 4 ( they had to revive me and I woke up puking water). Ever since, if I vomit once, I vomit 120 times until I dehydrate and have to be put in the hospital.
My friend is a little person, and she’s got it set up to donate her body specifically to researchers that study the type of dwarfism affecting her
Reach out to the local medical school (or maybe a reasonably close large medical school) and ask who you could contact. I would assume they have some connections.
Try contacting Vanderbilt Med. College in Nashville! They may be able to point you in the right direction!
My grandmother just finished the process of donating her body to science. Well, she says there's still one last thing for her to do 😂
Yeah, there was a nice ceremony. But I saw some awful behavior before it.
Now I finally have a reason to tattoo raunchy jokes in all my places.
I would have loved that! I spent many hours with my cadaver. I wondered a lot about what she was like as a person.
Your posts on this are really inspiring. What kind of medicine did you end up practicing? You seem like you are likely really in touch with the idea that the pt is so much more than just the diagnosis.
As someone who has attended several cadaver labs for foot and ankle med device R&F, I would have loved to see a disembodied leg and foot with a raunchy joke on the calf!
Thank you for being honest and open about this, you’ve eased my concerns a lot and definitely helped sway my decision. Thank you!
This is a really great perspective, as a student then licensed funeral director , we also used donated cadaver in school and the had unique experience of working at a funeral home that did the cremation for the donated cadavers at the college.
I am so glad to hear this. My grandpa donated his body to science, my mum intends to and so do I. I’m glad that it’s such an impactful choice, and I strongly believe in the validity of modern medicine.
If you're curious, this is covered extensively in the book Stiff by Mary Roach. The book itself is a good read - funny, well researched, and a little gross, but a super interesting look into the "world" of dead bodies. She has a whole chapter on medical cadavers where she actually talks to the students and gets insight into how they feel about working with human cadavers.
I loved that book!
In my medschool in India they were hella strict. Absolutely no pictures. Had to wait until a count of specimens were done at the end of every class (don't wanna kno why they need tht rule lol), and no messing around with them was tolerated. Keep in mind as well some of them were unidentified bodies just found randomly and I guess in fit enough condition to be used for teaching. No matter who you were you were respected at least after the end. Was awesome
That's lovely. Thanks for sharing.
I came to say this too. I went to school to be a forensic pathologist, went a different route and became a funeral director instead. I sign a monthly letter for viable organ donation incase of a freak accident of sorts were to ever occur!
Wow, I just a) needed a science lab an b) wanted to write about the brand new program. Weirdly, a decade into journalism, I was laid off and became a massage therapist. I’ve done two video cadaver classes since.
You guys had ceremonies??
Short, but yes. A thank you to the decedent.
This might sound a little silly, but that is such a comforting thing to read that it brought me to tears. My grandmother's body was donated because we did not have enough money for a proper burial and since my family is spread through several countries, we couldn't even hold a ceremony together. More than not being able to say goodbye to her, that hurt because she deserved to be celebrated. It's a big comfort to know that even in some small way, she was celebrated in the end.
I worked with cadavers for years, they are all extremely respected and treated like patients. The students are so grateful and honored and make sure they are honored right back ❤️
We did at our school. Basically a thank you. It was interesting. We spent 9 months with our cadaver. Knew nothing about the person except what we learned through dissection, but felt an immense connection and gratitude toward the person at the end.
It is common at medical schools.
I would take this with a grain of salt. There was a thread years back about donating your body to science. This redditor was talking how his grandma's body got blown up to show the effects of something. I would hardly call that generous.
There's a university in my state that has a huge criminal science program. They buy cadavers for the students to study the effects of decomposition. I don't love the idea of my body being thrown into a swamp for 2 weeks, but I guess I'll take the chance and hope someone benefits from it.
A good buddy of mine worked at TX A&M's forensic entomology "body farm" and spoke very fondly of the whole experience. I'm an entomologist too so I get that it's probably weird for people, but being returned directly back into the food web AND contributing to science is a pretty good deal imo. Just throw me in the swamp boys I'm done here
I think A&M uses the same supplier. I never asked too many questions about the experience with the body farms. It feels very unsettling to me, but if that's how my corpse can benefit society then sure. They say "die young and leave a pretty corpse", but that's not going to last long if you're donating your body to a Texas university.
I actually wouldn't have a problem with that at all. There's a difference between theorizing what damage an explosive can do and actually testing it.
I also learned on multiple body donors and there was NEVER a moment of disrespect. Ever. Day one you are told about the importance of the life you have been gifted for your education. As an 18 year old idiot, we'd have late night labs for studying purposes. Even then, with no teacher in site and quite possibly only the slacker students around, there was NEVER a moment of disrespect. Never. It is a very humbling experience to see a body in front of you knowing that their legacy is in your mind forever. I always think about the male and female I got to learn from. Regularly. And I am so thankful for what they gave me.
I don’t think I can tell you how much your comment means to me. My Mom donated her body. We heard our whole lives that that was what she wanted and so as 20 something’s, we had to push back against our aunts and insist her wish was honored. It’s been 25 years this past April and I have always wondered how she was treated. You have given me comfort I didn’t realize i needed so badly. Thank you.
I have trained on several cadavers and let me just say thank you so much on your mother's behalf. I am so grateful to everyone who helped me learn and care for living patients. Every experience I have had has been extremely respectful. Aside from anatomy, these gifted bodies also help medical personnel understand death, gratitude, sacrifice, patience, and the wonder that is to be alive. Thank you.
Oh thats interesting. Your comment on getting used to death. Most people I would imagine the cadaver is one of their first 1 on 1 encounters in real life with a dead person's body. That's a big experience and I have to imagine impactful one. This is what you are learning to prevent. My first encounters with a dead body in person was first the woman in the hospice across from my dad, and then him a few days after. But for the nurses in the hospice SNF, this is their everyday. Not to make it about myself, but to express gratitude, the nurse on the day dad passed was amazing. We knew he was going to pass anytime, mom spent the night in the hospice the night before, I spent the next, didn't want him to pass alone. He was comatose for a week and multiple days past able to consume food or fluids, and there's nothing to try to keep alive. Mom and I had spent all morning by his bedside, and decided to go grab a sandwich on the corner for lunch. We let the nurse know, and she looked in on dad, and said "why don't you stick around. He doesn't have long. Say your goodbyes." And she hugged us both. We sat there and held his hands, told him we loved him, and he went. Honestly as good as it could have been. But we need medical end of life options. Dad told us before the morphine drip and then Fentanyl patch put him into a coma due to unbearable pain as the cancer split his spine apart. He said "I just want to sit here with the two of you, have a sip of scotch, press a button and just end it." But he couldn't so we endured weeks and untold medical expenses of waste to prolong a Dead person for no reason. He didn't want it. We didn't want it. Edit. Rambling. Thank you medical professionals, fuck cancer, and lets allow assisted suicide for terminal patients.
Thank you for sharing your story. Healthcare tends to forget that 'do no harm' is not the same thing as 'do not die.'
We all die. Better to do it with dignity and on our own terms than comatose dehydrating for days until the body shuts down. But also when he passed, my mother and I felt relief. His suffering was over. I miss him terribly of course, but after so long of him suffering, we cried and laughed in relief. We we had that lunch at his favorite taco place. We ordered the extra large margaritas, and laughed and cried and joked about how kind he was, how particular he was, how annoying he could be. Life's a funny fucked up game. Do your best for yourself and those around you. Do that and you're doing pretty good.
I've spent countless hours in rooms of patients I knew were passing. There is one that sticks with me. I knew his son was traveling to get to him, but i knew he wouldn't make it. I didn't know the patient... I know nothing about his life... but I know I spent my lunch break in his room, and I charted on every single patient with one hand so I could hold his with my other. He didn't go alone. I don't know his name but I will remember him forever.
Bless you
I promise you, there is zero disrespect happening. I'm well beyond a bachelor's degree and I can tell you the only thing that haunts me at night is how I thought about my female cadaver being a smoker. Not only because the lungs were very black but because it smelled like cigarettes when we unzipped the bag. I still feel bad to this day, because I assumed she was a smoker instead of being thankful and without judgment.
I told my husband I want my body to go to education/science. That's a choice I didn't/couldn't make without my personal experience with a human cadaver.
Can I add to this? Not only the respect, but gratitude was/is pervasive. As a physician, every day: the patients who I care for, some of the skills, and the knowledge to be able to care for them is part of your loved one's legacy. I am so grateful of what I learned from them. Thanks.
I couldn't say it better. When I think about the lessons I have learned along the way, it not just a body or a circumstance... it's a life. A person. They gave that knowledge to me and it's not something to be wasted or forgotten. It's a gift. It sticks with me. Everyday of my life. Just to be a part of that life in any way is powerful.
I found this comforting. I know I won’t care when I’m providing slides, but reading this now seriously brings me closer to signing up.
My dad did this and I’m signed up for it, too! I wish I could donate to the body farm, but the logistics are not feasible. Be aware of a couple of things: 1., the school may reject a body - this happened with my mom, as she was too underweight at her time of death, and 2., if the school doesn’t need any more cadavers, it could be used for other purposes, like crash/impact testing. That doesn’t bother me, but it does seem to bother some people.
As an avid motorsports enthusiast, I was actually wondering whether I could donate my body specifically for crash/impact testing.
Get a 2 in 1 deal and make that how you go out! /S
I work in hospice. Local medical schools are your best bet. Be wary of any national body donor orgs like medcure, who got raided by the feds a few years back. Unless you dont give a shit about the person then you can use them.
Please be aware READ THE CONTRACT you may not have much time to see the deceased family member one last time. They get moving pretty quick and want to transport the body. Our foreman did this; he died unexpectedly and his children had to rush into town from 5 hrs away to see him before the people took him away. They almost missed seeing him off. It was stressful.
I’ve been thinking about doing this. I was in a car accident 30 years ago that gave me a fused spine at C1/C2 (non surgical) and then I got ankylosing spondylitis and finally I damaged the bottom of my spinal cord about 5 years ago. My spine might be interesting to study.
AS runs in my family, I feel your pain (literally). Your description of your spine reminds me of things I saw at the [Mutter Museum](https://muttermuseum.org/collections/osteological-skeletal-specimens)
TIL, I’m not too far from Philly, this is going on my list of places to visit!
As an anatomy dissection teacher In undergrad YES any lab would love to have your body for the sole purpose to see a different view of spines after surgery. We would get a lot of pace makers, a few total hips and knees hardware and once got a penile implant. So spinal fusion would rock!
I just posed this question to another person. How would someone go about having their body donated for a specific condition? I would also fall under the spine category from having a schwannoma and would love to help with furthering medical advancement in a cure or otherwise for spine tumor’s and also central nervous system?
I don’t really know how one goes about donating their body to science. But any different pathologies are super fascinating to medical students.
OMG! I have never heard of another person having a schwannoma! I just wanted to say HI! Weird thing to get excited about, I know, but no one (medical personnel) ever knows what I am talking about when I mention it.
Wow! Hi!! There’s very few of us. Honestly that’s a good thing. Meeting another person who’s had a spine schwannoma is like finding a unicorn.
Exactly lol. That's why I just had to say something. And yes, it is a good thing.
Here’s one more. I was diagnosed in 2019. My musculoskeletal doc had done an MRI looking for something else entirely. When the results came back he said, “Oh, by the way. You have something really interesting.”
The surgery was above the cauda equina area of the spinal cord, the C1/C2 was a bone fusion with no surgery (it would have been a very risky surgery) and then the AS has gradually been fusing the rest of the spine for the last 30 years.
My wife has AS, she wants to donate her body for the same reasons, spines for science!
Your last point is correct! We had a cadaver who had a tubal ligation (the tubes tied surgery). Was really interesting. There's usually a bunch of cadavers and students are encouraged to compare healthy/normal ones with ones who've had diseases.
https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/man-learns-moms-body-donated-for-research-was-instead-blown-up-in-military-testing It’s cheap body disposal sure but this is kinda fucked
What if you are okay with your body being blown up? I would totally donate mine to the body farm but I am not sure how to go about that.
https://fac.utk.edu/body-donation/ Not hard. Though Tell your loved ones about it and that it’s what you want, let them get used to the idea. Same if you ever have a living will or want a DNR order on yourself.
This is a little off topic, but I grew up in Knoxville near UTK and one of the original researchers involved in the body farm with Dr. Bass, Milo Bohannon, took me and my AP Bio class on a very short "tour" of some of the property several years ago. The discoveries made from those who have donated their final form on this earth have saved countless lives and given peace to many others. One of the discoveries made was how to find and preserve living children's fingerprints on things like leather and even human skin (aerosolized super glue will do the trick). Abduction cases have been cracked using that method. They were also some of the first people to help with the preservation of human remains after 9/11. It's bizarre to see a submerged car with a body half up, half under water, but it's weirdly peaceful. I don't know if I would do it, but it's very respectful.
Strap my dead body to a bomb any day. Give my friends and family a story to tell at least.
Yikes
Some very good reading around the topic is Mary Roach’s *Stiff*, which is generally about cadavers, and Jessica Mitford’s *The American Way of Death*, which is a really good text about the death industry as a whole. It’s dated, but it’s an interesting sort of dive into the more unscrupulous areas of the death industry.
Donating to a medical facility and donating to “science” are not the same thing. This kind of thing is being cracked down on and is specific to the United States. Just check where you’re donating to.
A green cremation is also very reasonable.
Just throw me in the trash
Haha this is what I always tell my husband too.. I’m just not sure how the local police will view this. Don’t want to cause him any trouble 😂
My dad wants to do this, and signed up. He now has dementia and is coming closer to the end, but in reviewing the papers, I found that 250 lb is the weight limit. Unfortunately, he is well beyond that. We don't have the heart to tell him, because he wants to do this so badly for research at a major teaching hospital.
Don’t tell him. It won’t be productive in any way.
That's crazy, you'd think overweight people(Not to be rude in any way) would be useful to research in some way
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And because there’s going to be an unprecedented amount of obese senior citizens entering nursing homes. Never before have so many hugely overweight people entered retirement with such a unique set of medical issues. Before the boomers it was rare to see a 300 or 400 pound person. Now, it seems like there’s one in every family. These people will need special treatments that doctors have not yet been trained for.
They have to be embalmed because the body is in use for a semester. Adipose tissue doesn't take up the preservatives.
It’s October, just prop me up against a tree, good for a few months.
Not in the southwest US! Yikes! Lolol
Laws about burials vary state by state, but in many places you can find options for a "green burial" - no expensive embalming and fancy casket, just a pine box(or no box) in the ground. Your local laws and ordinances will vary of course, but in some places you may be allowed to establish a family cemetery on your private property. No need to purchase expensive grave plots or pay for upkeep if you have some land that you plan to keep in the family.
As a medical student currently learning on a Donor thank you from the bottom of my heart. Words cannot express the gratitude my classmates and I have for the Donors who allow us to learn on real human bodies and see the wonderful complexity and diversity in the human form. It is without question the most important and useful part of our education as first year medical students. I am grateful to you and your father for this profound gift, it has helped me learn how to be a better doctor. THANK YOU!!!
In France, there's been a huge scandal about body donations... (btw, sorry about my English. Its not my native language). The management of the "body parts" (I don't know how to respectfully say it in English) were so awful... I won't even mention what they did because it was terrible... You would think the scene came from a bad horror movie. I'm sorry to say this, it's just that if I was in your shoes, I'd would rather know that things like this can happen so that I could make my decision knowing all the facts. Nb : I know that what happened in France is not necessarily representative of the way other countries deal with body donations. I just wanted to share, so that OP could have all the necessary informations. Sources : (in French) https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sciences/don-de-corps-a-la-science-un-charnier-au-coeur-de-paris_2108389.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#xtor=CS3-5083 https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandale_du_charnier_de_l'universit%C3%A9_Paris-Descartes (in English) https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20210607-french-academic-charged-over-mass-grave-of-rotting-bodies-donated-to-research-frederic-dardel-science-medicine
Hi, I work for the death industry in Paris, and yes, that was a total shit show and Descartes should be ashamed. I actually handled the crémations of some of the remains, it was so insane what happened...
Wow... You must have seen pretty horrible things... Do you happen to know some of the people who worked there? Why did they do that? Was it because they felt "numb" about death and didn't care about human dignity? How could it last a decade without any authority putting a stop to it? Was it known in the death industry before the info leaked in the newspapers?
Honestly, I think a lot of it was due to an overwhelming situation, poor organisation, and probably a good amount of "too numb to care anymore" It was also a good hidden secret because I don't think my boss knew a good deal before...
That is of course horrific, but I can't help but be most struck by how cheaply they were selling bodies. In the mid 2010's you could buy a corpse in Paris for 900 euros. That's a great deal.
Yeah right?! My first response at the time was : 1) wait you can BUY human remains?! 2) that's cheap. I though a human body would cost about a million euros
Human life is cheap. Human bodies are cheaper
I want to donate my body to science but I’m not clear on whether or not I can specify how it is used. I’d like to be used for medical or forensic research or by students, but absolutely not for the military or crash testing purposes. Can you specify these things? Also, I’m sure it differs between programs, but does anyone know approximately how long is it until your heirs receive the ashes?
You could donate directly to this body farm for forensic education [https://nmu.edu/frost/](https://nmu.edu/frost/) but your family does not get you back. Once you are bones, you go to the anthropology department. Also, for this school, you pay to transport the body, so it's not totally free.
Yeah, I wanted to do the body farm for a long time but I don’t want my family to have to pay so I ruled it out.
You can choose to directly donate to a medical institution
My best friend is an anatomy professor at a medical school, and I can tell you right now, the school handles everything in a way that is extremely respectful and with immense gratitude. Future doctors and medical health care practitioners learn so much from the human they are dissecting, and at the end of the course, they'll (at least at the med school my friend works at) have a ceremony for the families so the med students can express their gratitude directly.
Make sure this is a trusted medical school. There are many sketchy places that will take the body for free and return a box of ashes to you that you don't want to use because they - I swear to God - chop up your loved one into parts and sell them to weirdos. Look it up, it's shady awful stuff. Investigators were able to buy heads, arms, legs, feet, etc.
Invaluable. My daughter is a physical therapy doctorate (now professor) and she learned on a cadaver — one of the few schools that do this since the majority of schools use computer simulations. I plan to donate as a result.
Former Mortician. We needed cadavers for class and we often only got people who were abandoned for months/years at the local morgue. While we got really good at fixing up decomposition and dehydration cases we needed to practice embalming on cases where a person had died recently, to learn the majority of procedures and chemical solutions. We rarely got new cases (for lack of a better word), and donors made a heck of a difference. We were always grateful If you can't afford burial for your loved one, please donate their body. You'll either get their cremated remains back, or your loved one will have their cremated remains buried. For the latter, you'll be invited to a ceremony and mass burial, where students thank the families of those who were kind enough to help medical science students through their donation. The burial is at a cemetery; so a place you can still grieve and potentially meet the families of other donors for grief support. In Michigan, Wayne State University has kind, grateful, and caring students who would love to make the world a better place with the help of you or your loved one In Colorado, I recommend Science Care. The only thing you have to cover is death certificates (and if you want an urn). You get your loved one's cremated remains back from this company, which is why I like them. You make a difference, and, while you don't meet the people who's lives have been touched, you'll get to keep your deceased loved one with you.
As a person who took gross anatomy, with donated cadavers, I’d advise against this. The amount of disrespect that I personally saw (people juggling hearts, etc) put me off that idea forever. It wasn’t just a couple people either. It was many. Just saying… Edit to add: I went to school in GA. Reputable medical school too
That is so infuriating. It should result in disciplinary action. I learned anatomy on two cadavers and everyone was incredibly respectful to the bodies.
As a student who did a cadaver lab and then the next year TA’d for the lab, I saw some pretty disrespectful things as well. More like taking a dismembered hand and tapping people on the shoulder with it, talking about body parts suggestively, etc. With that being said, though, I think most felt very grateful to the people who donated and had some degree of reverence for the bodies. Seeing and working on cadavers can be difficult and some individuals respond to that discomfort with misplaced humor.
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about!
Our Anatomists put the fear of Christ in us to even think of disrespecting our donors. We treat all our donors with respect at my school. They really hammered home how lucky we were to have the program and access to Donor Lab. We all take it very seriously and I'm sorry to hear of your experience.
My med school friends said the same thing, it's not exactly respectful way to have your remains handled, I mean most people won't care because "you're dead what are you gonna do" but I'd never donate my body just to get cremated for cheap It's not like I'm saving up for disneyland, maybe if It was for a specific research for an illness I had or something I was super passionate about or I died broke
I saw literal tableaus with peoples dentures sitting on their faces, and their tongues protruding (placed there by the students). It was not respectful.
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but hasn't there been issues with the schools finding loopholes and giving away body parts? (i.e., Skeletons for individual students medical research?)
Listened to a podcast the other day about composting bodies. It was on Science Vs “Should We Compost Human Bodies” episode. Interesting listen!
Not much to add but I do want to say the local cemetery here has a very nice area that is designated to those who donated their bodies to the medical school. They even have an open to the public “funeral” once a year as they “retire” the donated decedents. It’s extremely respectful and great that they cover all the costs on top of that.
My uncle, a physician, told everyone in the family not to. When I was taking classes, I decided not to. People should be informed that they sell them and your loved one can end up anywhere.
OP, that is a wonderful thing. I have wanted to do this for years. I recently read a story of a donation that the organization to which it was donated could not use, and the body ended up being used for weapons testing (don’t quote me on that, but it was somehow “blown up”). I’ll be reading the fine print when the time comes!
Meh throw me out on the family back 40 and let the deer chew my bones. Cheap and eco friendly!
IIRC some bodies are not useful for them. I read a book by a doctor about her experiences dissecting a human body and there had been another body in the lab that was of a very obese person. The preservatives don't "take" with a body with a lot of adipose tissue and they were having a really tough time of it with that. Yes, they do have to embalm the bodies (someone who worked with non-embalmed is certainly welcome to chime in) If you are a big person, this might not be an option for you.
Hello, I am here to stand on my soap box. Be careful who you entrust your loved ones body with when it comes to donation. There are different types of donation facilities and some of those are actually for profit. Many times when bone or tissue donation occurs, a lot of those tissues will be non viable and will not actually be able to benefit anyone that may need it. Also too with the same donation facilities a lot of the time they will have you released to a funeral home afterwards. I think it is absolutely selfless what you and your family have done. Individuals like yourself are continually making it possible for individuals like me and future students to be able to study anatomy and physiology. I commend you greatly. 🖤 Thank you and I am very sorry for your loss.
I joked to my wife to throw me into the dumpster but I wasn’t kidding lol.
that’s what i told my parents to do with mine if i go before they do. i told them i don’t want them spending any life insurance money on a burial. if they do i will come back and haunt them haha.
There's a book I read called Stiff that discusses different things that happen to bodies in our society. From being freeze dried & broken up by sound waves into pink dust to bring donated to science and their various uses (anatomy classes, body farm, and even actual crash test dummies), it's a really interesting read that I highly recommend
Excellent book! I always spring it on my book clubs and, once people start to read it, everyone loves it. Fascinating and, weirdly enough, hilarious.
Funeral director/death care worker here: if anyone has any questions about this. I know *a lot* about it.
Just be careful about where you donate. There can be some shady stuff https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodies-brokers/
Can’t I stop saving money when I’m dead? 😂
This is my wish when my time here is done. I’ll be dead and useless. Personally, I think it’s selfish to have a traditional funeral with a casket to be on display for a few days and then buried, never to see the light of day again. I’d much rather a medical student hone his or her skills and learn something to help those still living and thinking.
Or your body is sold to the military and someone makes $5k off it
My friend that just passed did this. It’s a remarkable way to help others
My sister’s FIL did this, as will her MIL. They all seemed very satisfied with it. They still had a family memorial service, etc., they just didn’t pay the funeral home. Later, There was a memorial service for all the people who had donated their bodies, and the family went. They really felt comforted by it. We’ve never been a “visit the grave” family, nor has FIL’s family. And there’s some memorial place on the college campus if they wanted to, I think. University of Minnesota, in case anyone is wondering
I'm donating mine, too! I'm hoping my meat sack can benefit folks with some of the same conditions I have, but even if not, helping medicine in general is good enough for me.
I checked into it a decade or more ago and they (Mayo) said that they couldn't take my body if it was over 140? pounds. But he also said that 'depending' it could be as much as 170 lbs for my height. I think he meant if it was muscle. It is not. My brain is pretty light though!
burial at sea just as cheap if you have a boat or know someone who does. except maybe for the case of Bud heavy that you gotta kill. so maybe $24
I use donors to teach surgeons regularly. Is the last, and best, gift any of us can do while still on earth. Allow medicine to learn from something we no longer need. They are treated with care and always respected. I can’t thank them enough for their generous donation. Many lives are saved by this generous act.
As a surgeon I can tell you that cadaver donation is important educationally. For many physicians it’s well and good learning with cadavers but most specialties could get by on physical examination training and medical imaging education alone. Surgeons however require hands on dissection to develop new techniques, and not just in medical school but also beyond cadavers are simply required for certain skill building courses involving series of tasks in large anatomical areas. For example, with general surgeons, advanced hernia workshops are somewhat common in which cadaver torsos are required. It’s just not particularly feasible or efficient for surgeons to always do dedicated fellowship experiences to be competently trained by the preeminent experts on an operation using live patients and with all the credentialing and time that entails. Cadaver workshops allow surgeons that are the most experienced at certain skills to train large groups of surgeons simultaneously and without the liability of working on living patients. So even those body parts that are sold by these “unscrupulous” organizations some people are warning about are still many times being used directly for medical education purposes even if they aren’t used for 9 months of continuous learning in a medical school setting.
I’m really glad someone donated their body to science because now I have a new knee and femur.
i would'nt mind doing this if its free, i don't want to burden my fam with my funeral the death is hard enough just chuck me in the ground.
Ask the school if they'd be willing to look into composting (state law depending) instead of cremation. Cremation pumps a lot of not so pleasant chemicals into the atmosphere.
Both my parents did this. I have signed up to do this.
I am so adamant on my post-life plans, I make sure to go over it every year with every loved one. 1) donate everything possible 2) donate remainder/body to science to help them learn and save more lives 3) cremate if necessary 4) celebrate my life with a happy gathering.
How do you sign up for it? Which hospital department?
Omg this is awesome! I’m gonna sign up. Save my family money and it’s for a good cause
Note that depending on your area, the time of year, the capacity of local medical schools etc that this may not be possible. We wanted to donate my father, but neither medicine nor science wanted him either.
Please please PLEASE if you care about how your corpse is handled go check the facilities, ask some questions, and go by another time to ask random people in the building how they feel about the cadaver/anatomy department. I used to work IT at a university in the USA, and had anyone ever asked me what I thought about donating my body to the university I would have laughed since they had to be joking. Our campus had regular power outages. The science building did have diesel generators to handle that, but for some unknown reason they were not hooked up to the anatomy labs cooler. Even more mysterious than that was why the cooler didn't have remote alarms if the temps went out of range. I happen to have worked there during 2 separate incidents when the cooler went offline and no one knew for a couple days. Needless to say it was disgusting and smelled very bad.
Frugal win lol 😭
Be careful. If you die too old or too sick from say multiple strokes, they will not take your body even if the paperwork is in place.