Weve all heard of donating your body to science, but what does it really mean?
Lets talk about what happens when you give your body to further medical research and education.
(We wont be discussing donation of individual organs or tissues, which is coveredhere.)
Content warning: There are some potentially disturbing images of dead bodies throughout this story.
What Does Body Donation Mean?
How Will My Body Be Treated?
Many people feel some anxiety about how their body will be treated, post-death.
And not without cause.
Will medical students make fun of your corpse andtake pictureswith you?
Earlier this spring, Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, held an Anatomical Donor Appreciation Ceremony.
A poem was read by Dr. Ferdinand Esser, the tissue-compliance officer.
He extorted people to listen to the generous presence of the donors.
Glass bowls full of LED candles featuring the initials of each of the donated bodies sat on each table.
Emily Feit, an occupational therapy graduate student, had a unique perspective on the event.
Twenty years later, she attended the donor appreciation ceremony for her grandmothers body.
Now, this was her third ceremony.
Why Should I Donate My Body?
Its a waste to put me in the ground make me purposeful out there, she says.
Donating your body [also] saves the cost of the entire process of a funeral.
How Can You Donate Your Body?
Mercy receives their teaching cadavers from Albany Medical Center, whose main source is private donation.
All you have to do is fill out the form; it doesnt even need to be notarized.
The school keeps a record of your donation and you will also be issued a donation card.
you could download the necessary formshere.
In fact, Albany even offers a list ofother medical schools in the U.S.with anatomical-gift programs.
There are also companies such asBioGiftandScience Care,who are more like body brokers.
Wills often arent even read until well after a body would be donatable.
Whats a Body Farm and What Happens If I Donate My Body to One?
you’re free to learn about donating your body to the Anthropological Research Facilityhere.
AWisconsin locationis in similar limbo.
There are also two separate body farms in Texas one inHuntsvilleand one inSan Marcos.
There is one currently in the works inMichigan.
What If Youre More of An Artistic punch in?
Photos byRaghav93via Wikimedia Commons,public domain,Christine Colby,Wellcome Images
