Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Leaving Your Body to Science

If the thought of allowing your body to rot slowly underground after you die makes you heave, you may be considering cremation. However, more and more of us these days are also balking at the idea of voluntarily throwing our bodies into a huge oven until we turn to a delicate ash. Let’s face it, it’s not an altogether pleasant thought, and is even a bit stomach-churning as well.

For many of us, especially those who believe in advancing medical research, leaving our bodies to science appears to be the best way to deal with our carcasses once we die. It’s not only one of the most altruistic ways to dispose of the dead, as having scientists dissect our organs can help find cures to various disease and teach medical students, but also appears to be the least disgusting.

Or is it?

Will You Qualify?
It’s been described as a “wholesale form of organ donation,” and leaving your body to science is certainly that. But before you start searching out places that will collect your body, be aware that many places will not accept a body for donation if it does not meet the following relevant criteria:

• Must not have other organs donated, in most cases (with exception of eye corneas).
• Must be free from following infectious diseases: history of Hepatitis B or C, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, syphilis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human form of Mad Cow disease) and others.
• Must not be morbidly obese or seriously underweight.
• Must not have had a coroner already perform autopsy.
• Must not have serious injuries.
• Must not be any suspicion of foul play, as an autopsy might have to be done.

How to Do It
If you want to leave your body to science, you’ll have to find a tissue or body bank, medical school or university that accepts bodies. Once you find one, they will send you a detailed set of forms outlining their procedures, and possibly forms to answer about your medical history. You will have to discuss the option with your family first, and fill out all consent forms. And don’t forget to give them to someone – a pastor, friend or family friend or two – who you expect will still be around when you pass on!

Be aware that some facilities are small and do not have the proper facilities to store a surplus of bodies, so you may have to shop around (yes, really) to find a place that has room for you. And keep in mind the following financial considerations:

• The tissue or body bank or medical facility may or may not charge transport fees
• When the research on your body is over, they will cremate the leftover remains – and give them to the family at no cost. So, in effect you’ve got yourself a free cremation.
• The family must pay for processing of the death certificate and other paperwork.
• Even when all is said and done, the cost will be significantly cheaper than having a funeral, paying for a cremation yourself or staging a burial. And you can still have a memorial service, with or without ashes (see below).

What Happens Next
Depending on where your donate, your body could undergo a variety of experiences, including:

• It could be cut into pieces and sent to various specialists – the arms and legs to an orthopedist, the head to a neurosurgeon.
• Medical students could dissect every inch of your corpse to learn about the human form.
• The entire body could be used as a crash-test dummy to ascertain the effect of impact on specific body parts, and the body as a whole.
• Your cadaver could be used as part of a military research program.

Ask also about what happens once your body is no longer needed. Most of the time the remains are cremated, then scattered or buried. You can also ask for your family to be given the ashes.

Additionally, you can ask whether the institution follows certain protocols regarding the wishes of the dead. In some cases they will cover the face as they work on the body, or cover up the rest of the body as they work on the head. If you are worried, just don’t watch the medical student and cadaver episodes on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy…

A Worthy Cause
For most people, leaving their body to science is a noble and worthy, albeit it somewhat gross, gesture. “When one dies, the remaining family members are left with the emotional and costly details of arranging a funeral. Funerals do give closure, but I believe the same closure can be obtained through a donor program,” writes Paul Wilson on the website Socyberty.

“Personally, I would prefer to leave my children any money that I have accumulated, rather than leave them to face the daunting and expensive task of arranging a funeral. Both of my grown children agree, and also are full body donors now.”

It may sound like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but leaving your body to science has far-reaching benefits. You may not be donating your organs directly, but you are allowing medical students to learn from their anatomy classes, thus helping perfect surgical techniques.

You are also helping broaden fields of medical research, improve medical care and even help with safety transport issues. Last but not least, in situations where families cannot afford a funeral, you are relieving them of the burden of having to stage one. Good for you!