What You Need to Know About Donating Your Body to Science
We’ve all heard about donating your body to science, but what does that really mean? Let’s talk about what happens when you donate your body to further medical research and education. (We will not be discussing individual organ or tissue donation, which is discussed here. )
Content warning: There are several potentially disturbing images of dead bodies in this story.
What does body donation mean?
A body donation or anatomical gift is simply a whole body donation after death for use in medical research. Most often, they will be used in anatomy classes to educate medical students or even fitness instructors, and for surgical practice.
In Mary Roach’s popular book Stiff: The Mysterious Lives of Corpses , she expresses surprise and concern that at least parts of donated organs might end up as a practice for plastic surgeons. She believes that if someone donates their corpse “for the good of science,” they may be upset if they find out that these are just practical noses for rhinoplasty. However, Roach acknowledges that using donated corpses in this way is justified, as the surgeons performing these procedures really need to learn how to do them well. And while you may never know where your remains may end up once signed, or how they will be used, there are many institutions that will appreciate your anatomical gift and treat your remains with respect.
How will my body be treated?
Many people are concerned about how their body will be treated after death. And for good reason. Medical students have long made fun of their corpses, dressing them up, or giving them disrespectful nicknames. Will medical students laugh at your corpse and take pictures with you?
Fortunately, much of this behavior is ancient history, and medical schools are actively working to educate their students about empathy and respect for their corpses.
Earlier this spring, an anatomical donor recognition ceremony was held at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. The poem was read by Dr. Ferdinand Esser, Fabric Compliance Officer. He pleaded with people to “heed the generous presence of donors.” A slideshow was shown accompanied by musical accompaniment, in which students expressed gratitude to their corpses, their “silent mentors”. On each table were glass bowls full of LED candles with the initials of each of the donated bodies.
Dr. Kathleen Golis, associate dean of the School of Health and Science at Mercy, notes that the idea for the ceremony came from students who wanted to honor their corpses. She says, “Many colleges are no longer involved in cadaver anatomy, but we really firmly believe that it gives you the opportunity to learn something that you can only learn this way.” With tangible passion, she speaks of her desire to tell stories to people who donated their bodies, to be interested in their stories and to empathize with their injuries or illnesses.
Emily Faith, an occupational therapy graduate student, had a unique perspective on this event. When she was only three years old, she attended a ceremony honoring her grandfather for donating his body to the University of Iowa. Twenty years later, she attended the donor awards ceremony for her grandmother’s body. This was her third ceremony.
In the context of her own research, she described her appreciation during her lab, her admiration for the life that the body used to hold, “the realization that this tissue, which I could hold in my hands and which I could study up close, was once a living part of someone’s life “-” an absolute miracle of the dwelling of the body. “
The thrill and excitement that staff and students have, along with the reverence they have for corpses, is reassuring to anyone considering giving an anatomical gift.
Why should I donate my body?
Last year, National Geographic reported that while demand for training cadavers is on the rise, supply is on the decline. New York State recently passed controversial legislation ending a 162-year tradition of allowing unclaimed bodies to be used in medical schools. Written consent from next of kin or proof that the deceased planned to donate his body is now required. Perhaps now is the time to consider making an altruistic body gift that you will no longer use.
Golish talked about other, more practical reasons why a person or their immediate family could donate their body to medical school. “Putting me in the ground is a waste – keep me focused,” she says. “Donating your body [also] saves the cost of the entire funeral process. There are family members who say, “I don’t have 8-12 thousand dollars for the funeral.”
How can you donate your body?
Mercy obtains her training corpses from Albany Medical Center, a major source of which comes from private donations. You can either agree to donate your own body before you die, or you can make a gift from your executor after you die. All you have to do is fill out the form; it does not even need to be notarized. The school keeps a record of your donations and you will also be issued a donation card. You can download the required forms here.
Obviously this is one specific example, but you can contact medical schools in your area to inquire about donating your body. In fact, Albany even offers a list of other medical schools in the US with anatomical gift programs.
There are also companies like BioGift and Science Care that are more like body brokers. But keep in mind that these are not medical schools – they are commercial companies that make money from donating and giving away corpses. It is also more likely that you will not remain whole, like a complete medical corpse, but will be separated and sent to different institutions with different needs.
When choosing any of these options, you will want to make a decision in advance, tell your loved ones about it, and receive written instructions for those who need them. The usefulness of the body depends on its quick delivery: a will is not the place for instructions on donating a body. Wills are often not even read until after the body is donated.
What is a body farm and what happens if I donate my body to one person?
Behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville is the Anthropological Research Center, commonly known as the Body Farm. It is the first and most famous of these establishments, although there are several others in the United States. Corpses are scattered on the ground – in the open air, in car trunks, on mattresses – to echo how often police investigators are found. With the help of these bodies, students will learn how to determine the time of death using the rate of decay under different conditions. Forensic entomologists will also be able to learn from the insects that inhabit the corpse and see how quickly they do what they need to do.
Once the decomposition and the study is over, your skeleton will join the esteemed collection of skeletons WM Bass Donated Skeletal Collection at the facility. You can learn how to donate your body to the Anthropological Research Center here.
There are similar institutions to which you can donate your body for forensic research in Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, and Colorado, and there are also rumors that one is planned for Pennsylvania, at the University of California, Pennsylvania, although this is difficult to confirm. Wisconsin is in a similar uncertainty. There are also two separate body farms in Texas – one in Huntsville and one in San Marcos . One of them is currently under development in Michigan . Bodies on Mount Colorado decompose very differently than in the swamps of Florida, and forensic investigators need to be trained in the specifics of their geographic regions.
What if you’re more of an artist?
Here’s a unique option: donate your remains to Body Worlds. You’ve probably seen a version of this traveling exhibition, created by individualist Dr. Gunther von Hagens, in which ripped, preserved corpses are displayed in various active positions, such as playing sports, dancing or riding dead horses with their skins.
Donated corpses are preserved using a method called “plastination,” which involves replacing fluids and fats in the body with silicone rubber and then quenching them with gas, heat, or ultraviolet light. Von Hagens claims that you will be saved forever, so there is no need to choose between burial or cremation.
Readers should note that in 2009, Hagens was criticized for an exhibition in Germany in which dead people, presumably strangers in life, were presented in the agony of intercourse. So you never know how he might use your remains, but if you are playing you can contact Body Worlds for a plastination donation here.