Parents decided to leave their bodies to science

Errata

After reading the original post earlier in today, I've just visited my 86year old dad and told him about it. He thinks leaving one's body to science for the benefit of medical students is a terrific idea. We both had a good laugh at how scandalised my younger brother - 58 - would be if Dad decided to do it as bro is very conservative and likes things to be done 'properly.

[Deleted User]

my dd had to learn from a deceased person as part of her training. The dead person was treated very respectfully at all times.

borderlakland

both my mum and dad have decided to do this.they have told both me and my sis what to do and where info is(phone numbers etc)
mum said she wanted to be able to help future people,poss her grand kids etc by helping to train drs. she isn't religous,has given blood for many mnay yrs and carries donar card.so for her this is just the next step.
i wasn't sure at first but after all it is what they want so i'm happy to (when necessary) do what they want.
as she said it will save us all wondering what music etc to play at funeral.thay have said if we want to plant a tree or what ever in their memory then thats fine.in the end i'm glad in some ways they have taken the hard decissions out of our hands(if that makes sense)

Errata

as she said it will save us all wondering what music etc to play at funeral

My dad said to me 'It would save all that faffing about that always happens at funerals' :rotfl:

azjh77

My OH used to work at the University, the same one to which some relative of his Mothers had been sent (her brother's MIL I think) Anyway, they only keep the body for a while and then send whatever's left back to the family for a funeral...sadly they seemed to have lost Chris! It was a standing joke that the OH 'check the med. floor' when he was there, but the family never got her back.

Organ donation is totally different from donating a body to science. You have to be 'alive' (ie:- blood still going through the organs and such) for organ donation, the reason so few people on the list actually get to donate is that if you don't 'die' in the right way they can't use you.

I believe for health & safety reasons they have to be fussy about the bodies they accept for medical donations too - nothing infectious, bits missing etc.

We're all going to the local 'woodland memorial ' where they bury you in a wicker moses basket and plant a tree on you...I think cremation is becoming unfashionable due to the whole 'green house gas' thing....

Sallys_Savings

My mother had always wished her body to medical research, but as it happened they didnt want it. As another poster said there are lots of different reasons why they didnt. Its a shame as she had always spoke of this, even when we were younger.

There is something that might make you feel differently about your parents leaving their bodies to medical science.
I once read a book that was written by a young boy who was dying from cancer (i think it was meant for children suffering with cancer) anyway...he described dying as a butterfly (your soul) emerging from a crysalis (body)(spelling?) which was then discarded

Nenen

I've read all the posts on this thread and really feel for you Zippy. I know that the logical conclusion is exactly as many people have posted (and Sally put particularly beautifully)... about the body being a shell and helping doctors to learn etc but somehow I just can't get my heart to agree!

I know if it was someone I loved very much I would really hate the idea of their body being used for scientific purposes and would want the traditional burial... personally I don't even like cremations... and before anyone jumps in... please don't try and use logical argument... I know what logic *should* dictate but my heart says something completely different and grieving is a particularly heart felt process. I know lots of people who hate burials and much prefer cremations... it is very personal. I would definitely ant a grave to visit too... again a very personal choice I know.

I'm sure I won't be popular for saying this, but I think that while it is very noble to want one's body to be donated to science etc I feel it is also a little insensitive (and maybe even selfish) to one's nearest and dearest to insist on this course of action unless one knows that they fully support one's views and are happy with it. IMHO funerals are there for the comfort of the loved ones left behind and I wouldn't want to do anything that made my passing even more painful for those special people, no matter how noble I wanted to be.

Personally, I've told my family I would like to donate some organs if they feel comfortable with it... however, I have made it clear that, if they prefer not to agree when the time comes then that's fine with me. Similarly, my dh and I have agreed that if he dies first then I will bury him in a woodland setting (as I know that would give me greteast comfort) while if I die first he can do whatever he and/or our children feel would be easiest/most comforting for them... or is cheapest at the time (MSE or what)!