Would you consider leaving your body to medical science?

[WholeBodyDonation]

Are you planning to leave your body to medical science? Can you spare 5 minutes to let me know the reasons behind why you would or wouldn't please?

I'm currently researching whole body donations for a radio show feature, and would love to hear from anyone who is planning to do this or has experienced someone close to them doing it. I know this is a tricky subject for people to talk about, but I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts people have. None of your views will be used without permission.

wholebodydonations@gmail.com

Many thanks!

[dodger]

I have discussed this with my husband.  I would be fine with doing so.  If any organs or tissue can be harvested that is great, I have the donor sticker on my license. 

If a future health care professional could get some education by studying my body that would be an additional plus from my stand point. 

[ohtobeahayes]

My mother in law passed 6 months ago, and the U still has her remains. I hope they are learning a ton, she had so much wrong with her. Yes, I will. I would love to do that. I have no need for my body once i'm done with it and if we can learn more from it, why not?

[Fr Pat]

     Here in Okinawa, Japan, I have signed the rather detailed legal papers to leave my body for two years to the local medical school to use. (Required notarized signatures from 2 family members, etc. etc.)
     Here they have quite a lovely system. "Deigo" is a beautiful flowering tree here, so the "Deigo Society" is for those who have agreed to donate their bodies after death. You get a wallet-card, and once a year the Medical School hosts a gala lunceon at a local hotel for all the members. At the lunceon some speakers give the report on how many bodies have been harvested the previous year, and a booklet is printed with the foto and biography of each donor. There are performances of traditional Okinawan songs and dances, and the atmosphere is quite pleasant. At each round 10-person table there is one impeccably dressed medical student who politely serves tea to his/her future cadaver specimens. At the end all the medical students form a long line at the exit and bow in gratitude as the members (about 250 at the last lunceon) exit. Nice.
     After the stipulated time for use of each group of cadavers the University gathers the family members at the crematorium for the return of the remains. Medical students and patients give short talks thanking the families, Buddhist, Shinto & Christian prayers are offered and then while the bodies are being cremated a lunch is served. Then the cremated remains are returned to each family to take to their tombs.
     At the University there is a beautiful memorial garden with large stones upon which the names of each person who donated their body is inscribed at the time of the donation.
     I suspect that if more places did it this nicely many more people would agree to donate their bodies. While it is a wonderful thing to do, the idea of just "leaving my body to science" can sound sort of cold unless the beauty of the gift is somehow celebrated. It's nice to leave this world, I think, making one final gift to help others.
     Fr. Pat

[jstx]

I have a little different take on this and am still not sure either way what I think.  I happened to talk to my family doctor about this when I made sure they had copies of my medical POA, living will, etc.  I am registered as a donor after death.  I hadn't really thought either way about donating my body to science and my doctor told me she isn't going to....she'd donate her organs to help others who need them, but she said she knows what the medical students do to bodies that are donated for science and prefers not to allow that to be done to her body...I found her decision interesting.  Like I said, I still am not totally sure how I feel about it.  I see the benefits of it because it helps medical students with their training but hearing that from my doctor made me question it a bit.  It seems that she thought not all the students were totally respectful of the cadavers....maybe made jokes about them and poked fun at them......

[lawphi]

Inappropriate jokes are a coping mechanism. My husband digested a cadaver in undergrad.  There is a book on the topic called Stiff.  I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but seems really interesting.  The Immortial Life of Henrietta Lacks is a little bit on the line of medical donation. One of my favorite reads this year.

[Fr Pat]

     I think there is some similarity of concerns. If someone thinks of donating their body there may be the concern "what if it is not treated respectfully and used really well by the medical students?". For donating a kidney one may think "what if the recipient does not take good care of it, or uses his/her new health to life a bad life?". To give and just hope for the best can be difficult.
     Fr. Pat

[Donna Luebke]

I have made it clear to my family--in writing via advanced directives and by talking to them that when I die, I first and foremost want to be an organ, eye and/or tissue donor.  If not, then I do want to donate to research or to the local medical school.  I want to be cremated and only have a memorial Mass.  If I donate to science, a memorial Mass only is fine.  Advanced directives are most important so the person's wishes are honored.  If in my death, I can help another or advance science then I am all for this.  My family knows what to do.