Anyone here, besides me, considering leaving his or her body to a medical school for their anatomy classes?
I have, of course, an organ donation box checked off on my driver’s license, but my physical therapist and I discussed this issue yesterday.
I was complimenting her on her uncanny ability to feel the knots and sore points in my lower back. And she began talking about the anatomy classes she took. It turns out that age or decripitude is not an issue. In fact, the more infirm or decrepit you are, the better the students like it. Why not, I am thinking.
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I’ll definitely do it. Trust me, the med students appreciate it. I’m going to med school next year and there is actually a shortage of bodies for students to dissect.
What if it turns out the ancient Egyptians were right, and I have to spend my afterlife with a dissected corpse? I don’t mind donating the organs though, because they weren’t that important in the afterlife, plus they can radically improve potentially several people’s lives.
I would like to leave my brain to medical science, I have Multiple Sclerosis and it could be useful for research.
I used to be registered as a potential organ donor but is hard to imagine anyone wanting to touch my organs with a barge pole these days.
Yes, I’m considering it. My parts are pretty worn out for passing on, but they can also have any that would be useful. Or does the one donation cancel the feasibility of the other one?
The check box has been on he license through 3 states and many years. They will have to wait till I am 120 however because that is my goal…
@Sunny2 : Med students need the outer casing and the interior contents. Organ donations go straight to needy patients.
Apples and oranges.
My husband and I both want to donate organs if possible and have registered with nhs here in UK – can do it online. We’d rather keep that as the first option but we both have agreed that if the other died of a disease that meant our organs were not suitable for transplant we’d happily give their body to medical science. I think it’s important to talk about this with your next of kin so they know your wishes.
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Good question! Because one option saves the life of someone immediately while the other contributes to progress which can potentially save many lives. Never thought about this really. I always thought I’d donate organs and what is left can go to science. But as you say, and it makes sense, that they’d need the whole body.
I wish I had an answer to this but I don’t. I hope that in the coming years I can make up my mind.
Actually wait I know. As a default if I die an unnatural death I’ll donate my organs. But if I die of old age then I’ll donate my body to science because I’m assuming my organs won’t be very helpful at that age.
I don’t know that I’d be all that useful for that specific purpose (as my anatomy has been altered quite a bit) but it might be possible to glean information about ulcerative colitis from my body, so yes, I want it studied when I die. I won’t need my body anymore – may as well put it to some use rather than wasting it.
I will almost definitely donate my body. It’s a bit of a family tradition, really. We get so much from medical science that I am quite happy to give something in return to the discipline itself (in contrast to the money I give to its practitioners).
My daughter and I have both signed cards to do that. Hopefully it’ll happen. The time frame after death is an issue as are some diseases.
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