I've always been a person who thinks that money spent on funerals is money wasted. I want every penny of whatever I leave to give pleasure or opportunity to people I care about. I always figured I would opt for low-budget cremation.

Lately, I've been mulling the idea of donating my body to science. It's not entirely for the savings (although my brother-in-law's recent cremation was $2800 for the most basic of services).

It's also that very, very few black people donate their bodies to science. I don't know what difference it makes to medical students, but it bothers me on some level that medical science at that stage shuts black people out because we shut ourselves out and don't trust the process. Sure, I'm an organ donor, which is something, I guess.

Every time I get close to making the decision to leave my body to science, though, some awful story surfaces about someone misusing cadavers. The last one I saw involved people selling the opportunity to dissect a cadaver (or watch one being dissected?) for profit.

What are you all doing with your earthly form when you no longer need it?

Cindy

My dad donated his body about a decade ago. We both agreed that was a good idea and plan to do the same.

If I remember right, it took about a year before my mom got the cremains delivered.

i suppose if i had a disease that needed to be studied, it would make sense to donate my body to science. but otherwise i'm not sure that's the best idea. who knows how your body will actually end up being used.

i would love to be carried into the mountains (if I'm not there already) and be left for the wildlife. Or if that wasn't feasible, I'd like to be buried in a wild place--no casket, just directly into the ground where I can become a part of the biota.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
i suppose if i had a disease that needed to be studied, it would make sense to donate my body to science. but otherwise i'm not sure that's the best idea. who knows how your body will actually end up being used.

I think the answer is ‘cadaver for medical students’. Which is a contribution to medicine, though probably not what most people have in mind when they donate their bodies.

I would happily donate my body to science and really couldn’t care less about what happens to it.

Cindy, your point about Black bodies not being used in medical schools is a good one. I recall seeing a news article about a young medical student doing medical illustrations of Black bodies and how it was a whole new thing. I did a quick search and found this story (though it’s not the one I had originally read): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/n...dical-field-rcna8277

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
i suppose if i had a disease that needed to be studied, it would make sense to donate my body to science. but otherwise i'm not sure that's the best idea. who knows how your body will actually end up being used.

I think the answer is ‘cadaver for medical students’. Which is a contribution to medicine, though probably not what most people have in mind when they donate their bodies.

That's exactly what we had in mind... Dad was a science teacher and mom was a chem major. Teaching runs strong in our family!

Expect to make plans for cremation.
Want the ashes spread from near the top of my favorite chairlift.

I rather like the idea of being planted to feed a tree. Much nicer than a cold piece of granite, and it will last as long as anyone actually remembers me. Like Pique, the idea of being returned to the earth makes sense to me. Not taking up space that can never be used again.

Got the idea originally from Speaker For The Dead in the Ender's Game series. The trees their bodies became were revered.

I've never really thought about it. The idea of being donated to a medical school just so some 1st year student can dissect it has little appeal (though I know someone has to do it).

I tend to sign up for any sort of research project available, so I feel like my karma is good on this. I wonder how many people have a strong religious reason to keep their bodies intact? As I'm typing this, I'm unaware of any major religion that discourages organ donation, so I assume donating your entire body is also A-OK.

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:As I'm typing this, I'm unaware of any major religion that discourages organ donation, so I assume donating your entire body is also A-OK.

Hasidic (at least many of them) and perhaps some other flavors of Jews consider it to be contrary to Jewish burial law.

Think of those sects that send teams out to accident scenes with tweezers to collect tissue fragments. They aren’t donating organs.

I know there was a Catholic member of the family that was strongly against Dad's cremation.

Mom's pastor quipped to her, "I guess they don't think God can put all the pieces back together"!

quote:

Originally posted by rontuner:
I know there was a Catholic member of the family that was strongly against Dad's cremation.

Mom's pastor quipped to her, "I guess they don't think God can put all the pieces back together"!

That is a good one.

My mom had setup to have her body donated to science, but in the end they declined to take her. I don't remember at all why they declined though.

As for me, when I'm gone anyone is welcome to do anything with me. Pretty sure I won't object.

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:

quote:

Originally posted by Nina:As I'm typing this, I'm unaware of any major religion that discourages organ donation, so I assume donating your entire body is also A-OK.

Hasidic (at least many of them) and perhaps some other flavors of Jews consider it to be contrary to Jewish burial law.

Think of those sects that send teams out to accident scenes with tweezers to collect tissue fragments. They aren’t donating organs.

I know cremation, embalming, and autopsy are violations of Jewish law (or so I hear, I'm no authority), so it would make sense that any kind of dismemberment would be also against Jewish law.

Observant Jews are buried in plain pine boxes with the idea that their remains will become a part of the earth.

I like the pine box with a tree planted over it.