donating body to medical science

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

Interesting thread about not having a funeral on AIBU. I looked at donating my body but didn't sign up as my children were young and I thought a funeral would be needed for them to put a "hook" on my untimely death.

They are teens now, and know that two of my close relatives donated their bodies - who saw from the war and life what medicine could do and so they wanted to help train the next lot of medics.

I obediently wash my empty tins and sort my plastics and compost - my body is just a natural resource with a value after I'm done with it, so, I see donation to science as just an extension of recycling.

My bereaved relatives had a mixed response to having no funeral - some saw it as "it's his wish, he's doing a good thing" while some, the ones with a strong sense of faith, say they struggled without a service to say "goodbye".

I'm hoping to live a long time yet so I'll need to engineer conversation with my kids - a tricky topic over dinner one night, "hey kids, let's chat about me being dead and the interesting things that can be done with a corpse".

Anyone want to share their reasons for donating their body, or for definitely not wanting to donate their body; or have advice or insights about talking to your teens about your hopefully-not-yet-demise?

link to thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4466661-to-think-not-having-a-funeral-is-ok

link to donation page
www.rcseng.ac.uk/about-the-rcs/support-our-work/donate/donate-your-body-to-medical-science/

I have a friend who is determined to do this. He is low bmi (about 20?) and 72. He also has Bi- polar & Schizophrenia. His Father did this so he wants to as well. I don’t know. I was in Hall with Medics who were very disrespectful in the way they spoke about 'their' bodies but perhaps that was all just showing off & they were well treated in actuality.

I spoke to a medical student who said the body she worked on (recently) had died of cancer. Is that same as "donating to science" ?

If you look at anatomy school websites they may give a guide to why a body may not be accepted. The London Anatomy school has the following guide:

Post-mortem examination
Some infectious diseases: e.g.: Viral Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
Some forms of dementia
Recent operations: Depending on how soon after surgery the death occurs, how invasive the surgery was and whether the wound has healed. Pressure sores, ulcerations.
Peripheral oedema: Mild oedema may be acceptable or ascites
Severe deformity of the spine, where a donor is unable to lie flat on their back.
Obesity or very low BMI
When organs, other than corneas, have been donated for transplantation
Any circulatory obstruction that may impact preservation
Jaundice or gangrene

Also bear in mind that I'd you die at the start of a bank holiday you may not get your wish as bodies have to be donated quickly. Also schools close at times like Christmas and donations stop then too.

I know lots who have tried in the last decade and failed. In fact no one I know who has tried has ended up with this wish fulfilled.

• relative in her 80s - sudden stroke - failed
• relative in his 80s with long-standing health issues with heart, lung and circulation (would have considered helpful to research as they helped with such research and meds while alive) - failed
• relative who died and had a long standing mental health issues (I’ve studied this, the link between physiological and physical is certainly under scrutiny these days) - failed

It feels so wasteful when the intent is so clear.

@Isgooglebroken it's one or the other. You can't donate organs and then donate the rest to science.

Organ donation could benefit one or a handful of recipients; donation to science could impact teaching, research and the care received by hundreds or thousands of people.

It's an incredibly personal choice and one I haven't yet decided on! I'm registered for organ donation currently but may switch it to donating to science in future.

@EllaMinnowPee

I have visions of medical students twatting about with my boobs or legs or god knows what. High jinks etc

I mean, I'm sure they don't (they do) but it's something to bear in kind isn't it? If you're fine with someone messing about with you in a 'fun' way and fallows type humour then fine.

If they do, the university see it as a sackable offence, and are extremely strict about it.

Mum had lung cancer and a secondary brain tumour. They took her body. Perhaps it varies according to the institution,

A relative of mine tried to donate their body to medical science am sure their wishes had to be signed off by a doctor to say they were of sound mind, when making the decision everything was in place, unfortunately the person died between Christmas and New year so was rejected.

I have talked a lot of people through donating their body.

Some medical schools want more bodies than others and some are pickier than others. As above, they all want bodies that are relatively 'normal' in anatomy as they are mainly used for teaching students - no massive obesity, surgery with lots of body parts missing, pressure sores are all a no but everything else might be an individual decision.

Generally they have a policy that they won't say no to a body until after you have died - if they do say no, your relatives will then be having to sort a funeral out.

Any body donation needs to be consented and sorted with your chosen school before you die. Just thinking 'I want to donate my body and my relatives know that' won't work.

Finally if want you want to do is be really useful I always recommend that you consider doing 2 things instead:

1. Register as a Tissue and Cornea donor. Almost everyone can donate their corneas, unlike organ donation where you have to die on life support. Each eye donation can be used to give sight to more than 2 people as they take more than just the cornea - it's an amazing thing to do and very few donations are turned down.

1. Consider donating your brain and spinal cord to one of the UK's brain banks. These are all carrying out research on diseases such as dementia, MS, brain tumours and Parkinsons - they need normal brains as well as brains from people with those diseases. By donating you will be actively helping medical science.

www.hta.gov.uk/guidance-public/body-organ-and-tissue-donation/brain-donation

Even better it is possible to both be a tissue donor and a brain donor - the most helpful you can possibly be.

My maternal grandparents both decided to donate their bodies to medical science years ago. They were very clear that was what they wanted and so we all accepted it. Unfortunately, my grandad died of cancer so was not eligible and my grandma now has dementia so will also not be eligible

@EllaMinnowPee

I have visions of medical students twatting about with my boobs or legs or god knows what. High jinks etc

I mean, I'm sure they don't (they do) but it's something to bear in kind isn't it? If you're fine with someone messing about with you in a 'fun' way and fallows type humour then fine.

They don't. If anyone was that way inclined (and I did not go to medical school with anyone who would be that inappropriate) you have done 'science' the biggest favour as it would mean someone entirely unsuitable for a career in medicine will be kicked out of medical school promptly... This would not be tolerated for a second.

@Squills

After reading Professor Sue Black’s book ‘All that remains’ I decided that I will donate my body. I’d like to have donated it to her Prof Black’s anatomy department but it would involve having my family transporting it up to Scotland. I don’t want to burden them with arranging that so anywhere will do. I’d like to be of some use rather than being buried or burned.

I think Sue Black is at Lancaster now, @Squills.

@AnnaMagnani

I have talked a lot of people through donating their body.

Some medical schools want more bodies than others and some are pickier than others. As above, they all want bodies that are relatively 'normal' in anatomy as they are mainly used for teaching students - no massive obesity, surgery with lots of body parts missing, pressure sores are all a no but everything else might be an individual decision.

Generally they have a policy that they won't say no to a body until after you have died - if they do say no, your relatives will then be having to sort a funeral out.

Any body donation needs to be consented and sorted with your chosen school before you die. Just thinking 'I want to donate my body and my relatives know that' won't work.

Finally if want you want to do is be really useful I always recommend that you consider doing 2 things instead:

1. Register as a Tissue and Cornea donor. Almost everyone can donate their corneas, unlike organ donation where you have to die on life support. Each eye donation can be used to give sight to more than 2 people as they take more than just the cornea - it's an amazing thing to do and very few donations are turned down.

1. Consider donating your brain and spinal cord to one of the UK's brain banks. These are all carrying out research on diseases such as dementia, MS, brain tumours and Parkinsons - they need normal brains as well as brains from people with those diseases. By donating you will be actively helping medical science.

www.hta.gov.uk/guidance-public/body-organ-and-tissue-donation/brain-donation

Even better it is possible to both be a tissue donor and a brain donor - the most helpful you can possibly be.

"Instead", @AnnaMagnani? I imagined it as a Top Trumps - transplant, med students, brain and eyes?

Thanks, that's really helpful.

Body farm - I think Prof Black's book said there were moves to establish one in the UK. And that she wasn't keen. She didn't expand on why, other than that there laws which make it complicated.

Weirdly, I feel a bit yick about the prospect of a body farm, whereas the thought of med students mucking about with my tits doesn't bother me at all. Maybe I'd feel like I was joining in on high jinks with the yoof, rather than being alone and cold on a hill side.

Weird, isn't it? If I don't care, then I don't care. Maybe I do care!

Absolutely not a Top Trumps @vivariumvivariumsvivaria

Very very very few of us are going to die in a way that allows us to be organ donors.

Almost everyone will die in a way that will allow you to be a cornea donor. The main exclusion is having a blood cancer which most of us won't have. You can die at home, in a hospice, in hospital it doesn't matter, you can still donate.

So your next decision is: med students or research?

If what you really really want to do is research then to my mind what you want to go for is brain bank.

If you want to help train future doctors then it is med students.

At this point I should admit that cornea donation is a cause very close to my heart as my DH has two scleral donor grafts (a part of the eye) which he needed totally unexpectedly as a result of emergency surgery for a long term eye condition.

We had no idea he would need them until literally the day of the surgery and now he is walking around with donations that have saved his sight. I hadn't known that each eye actually goes to help about 8 people which is amazing.

Thanks for all your insights. Genuinely helpful.

And, also, thanks everyone, for your thoughts and stories about your family members.

It's important.

That IS amazing, @AnnaMagnani.

I hope your DH is doing well. That must have been quite a day.

Yes, I'm up for anything. I really do see it as recycling. Such a waste to leave eyeballs in my head if they could help people see.

My mum died in a hospice of cancer and was so pleased to hear that she was still able to donate her corneas. We got a letter around 6 months after she died to say that her corneas were able to help restore the sight of 2 patients.

She had such beautiful smiley eyes and she would be so happy to have been 'useful'

When my children are older I'd like to have a discussion with them about body donation but for now they are too little.

A friend did this recently; he's gone to a medical school to be used in training. When they've finished the remains will be cremated and the ashes returned to family.

About 10 days after he died the family held a private "celebration of life" ceremony with friends ; his body just wasn't at it.

We're both planning direct cremation with no attendance. The family can still hold whatever kind of ceremony they want, to say goodbye.

It seems the criteria for getting into body donation is high, I hope they're not a stringent at the pearly gates!

I've always been keen that I'm utilised for organ donation, I suppose as I age donating my body for research is perhaps a more likely option indeed to mull over.

Re "no funeral" I think it's more a case of holding some sort of service if you want to, just without the body present. We've signed up and when I mentioned it to a med student he said "Great, 2 funerals!" Not sure our children will appreciate 2 if that's what happens but they've accepted the situation.

I recently made a will and they asked me about my wishes for a funeral etc and whether I wanted to donate my organs/body. I said I would donate all my organs but I wouldn’t donate my body to medical science. I know it takes a while before they are done with it which delays the funeral and I’d want it over and done with so my family could start moving on.

Eyeball recycling: www.organdonation.nhs.uk/get-involved/news/cornea-donation-myths-dispelled/

brain, alzheimers: www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/blog/brain-donation/

MS and PD: www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/multiple-sclerosis-and-parkinsons-tissue-bank/brain-donors/donor-registration/

Personally I'd be happy to donate my body to science, sometimes I wonder if it's already been part of a science experiment,