I am leaving my body to medical science when I die!

@destry (2572)
Kirkwall, Scotland
October 26, 2015 9:39am CST
Maybe a bit of a morbid subject for some, but when I die I want to leave my body to medical science. I have completed all the paperwork, informed the university of my choice and updated the solicitor and family and friends. I have worked within the medical profession for quite a few years and I know how important cadavers are to assisting the next generation of doctors to develop their skills. So what better way of helping people then to be actively involved in the training of new doctors. My current job involves a certain level of surgical work on the deceased, so I think it would be quite fitting that the body of an embalmer gets prodded and poked, cut open and stitched up lots after death. I certainly do not want my body preserved to be brought back to life in the future @Fleura and just getting burnt to ash or buried in a hole seems like such a waste of a perfectly healthy dead body! What do you want to happen with your shell after you die?
24 people like this
19 responses
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
26 Oct 15
I have not decided yet but i would love to see mine being put into something useful. I admire you courage. It is not easy to make such a decision
3 people like this
• Philippines
27 Oct 15
@destry was this career something you just fell into?
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
26 Oct 15
@destry I have never had someone close make such a decision and i guess no wonder i would consider it such a hard decision to make
2 people like this
@KnehKnah (3584)
• Philippines
26 Oct 15
I had a similar plan too, when I was younger, my dear. But, when I had this thyroid cancer in 2001, followed by this & that (ailments), I'd been thinking that my body may not be of good use to future Doctors anymore. Maybe it will be better to just bury it or to cremate it instead (to save space). Ha! Ha! Ha!
3 people like this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
I am sorry to hear of your ailments - I know that there are certain things that prevent you from leaving your body to science, but great that have considered it :)
3 people like this
@KnehKnah (3584)
• Philippines
26 Oct 15
@destry Yes, my dear. And I thought I could at least give my eyes to Science, but lately they started to kill me. I can't even read well at times despite this good eyeglasses. I just hope I will not lose sight before my last breath.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (98834)
• India
26 Oct 15
Are they really that short of cadavers? I recently read that they can transform cadaver into diamonds.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (98834)
• India
26 Oct 15
@destry ..may be you would want to stipulate usage then.
2 people like this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
@vandana7 Its going to General Practitioners and surgeons, so not plastic surgery or anything like that.
1 person likes this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
They are short of them indeed. Some companies can turn the ashes into diamonds - well, not real diamonds but a version of.
2 people like this
• Greece
26 Oct 15
You are looking at this is such a rational way I can only admire you. At present you appear to be single but later on when someone has grown to love your body they may not like this appear as much...
3 people like this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
I am married, and my wife also has the same views and will do the same thing. We just think that a body is not the person, but if the body can benefit the wider community then it is a last gesture of kindness.
4 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
26 Oct 15
where do they get cadavers currently? how are they 'disposed' afterwards?
3 people like this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
All the bodies are left by people leaving the bodies to medical science. Once the students have finished with a body, which is about a year, the remains are cremated and returned to your next of kin. Also, the university has a service for those who donate . . So really, you are just lending your body for 9-12 months to the university.
2 people like this
@gudheart (12659)
26 Oct 15
No idea to be honest, not even thought about it. You make a good point though :D
3 people like this
@lady1993 (27225)
• Philippines
27 Oct 15
I also want to do that, but i do not know how I think some of my organs are healthy enough
1 person likes this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
27 Oct 15
I do not know how it is done in the Philippines, but it is quite simple in the UK - just need to contact the local medical university and they talk you through the process.
2 people like this
@slund2041 (3315)
• United States
26 Oct 15
I think my husband would want to bury my body. I think it is wonderful what you are planning on for your body.
1 person likes this
@slund2041 (3315)
• United States
26 Oct 15
@destry My husband has already decided for both of us. We already have our graves site and everything else that will be needed. We both will just be laid in casket, and then burried.
1 person likes this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
thank you, and what will you do with your husband?
1 person likes this
@marlina (154166)
• Canada
26 Oct 15
My sister wants to leave her body to science, personally I want to leave some of my organs.
2 people like this
@destry (2572)
• Kirkwall, Scotland
26 Oct 15
It is a matter of choice how much or little people leave, I just like the idea of going whole hog!
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Oct 15
i've no desire to be't the aid 'f others learnin' when i'm gone. i'll be cremated 'n my ashes scattered to the wind.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
27 Oct 15
I have no clue at this time nor do I have a preference. I guess it is something to think about
1 person likes this
@Fleura (29126)
• United Kingdom
26 Oct 15
I'm not sure about that either. Yes I agree it is a laudable use for a body which is no longer of use to its previous inhabitant, and students have to learn somehow; and yet, knowing what medical students are like.... I'm not sure.
2 people like this
• Hyderabad, India
27 Oct 15
I would want my organs to be donated when I die
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
27 Oct 15
Sort of right is kind of morbid. For me I am being burned and scattered here on the islands. i want to be free and not confined in a box or laying on a cold table. I hate the cold and this one doesn''t sound to appealing for me right now. But it's a great choice and hopefully they can learn from your body.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (159086)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Oct 15
I figure since my body is just that after I am gone, I would rather be burned to ashes than be buried. That prospect creeps me out. But, I am a donor and it says so on the back of my driver's license. I hope that there will be something healthy enough to salvage when I drop off.
@wiLLmaH (8801)
• Singapore, Singapore
26 Oct 15
O told my husband to throw me into the ocean so the fishes can eat me. Haha. But I have in mind to donate my organs to people in need.
1 person likes this
@just4him (306368)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
27 Oct 15
I've decided on the same thing. I just need to get it set in stone so to say, so when I pass there isn't any confusion about my wishes.
1 person likes this
@cintol (11261)
• United States
26 Oct 15
I am going to be a donor but want to be cremated after that.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35701)
• Canada
28 Nov 15
I had a friend who donated her body to the university. A good thing to do.