Donating your remains to medical science

Pet

Anyone here ever thought about it?

While looking through possible courses and MScs, I happened upon this page in the Anatomy Dept.'s homepage. It led me to thinking about signing myself up for it, because I believe in being as useful as possible to others (and all that jazz).

I also heard rumours of the Anatomy Dept paying for funeral arrangements, so I think that in itself should be motivation enough for people to do it.

So why it is that more people don't do it? Is it out of religious issues, or a general unease with the idea? Have any of you any objections to it (you don't necessarily have to explain them if you don't wish to)? Many people already carry organ donor cards and donate blood regularly. Is there such a difference here?

I know this seems like a very morbid topic, but it's pretty quick to do - get the form, sign it and forget all about it.

Thrill

If i thought my innards would save a life then i would have no problem with them being removed when i died, however the thought of my body being passed around for all manner of experiments does not go down too well. It sort of gives me the creeps tbh.

gymrabbit

I don't think it's something many people think about. I think my family would like an opportunity to have an open casket. I presume your body goes to the anatomy butchers after funeral? I'd encourage most people to be organ donors and secondly body donators.

after just reading the link you posted pet i think it's the other way around. you die, you go to the anatomoy department, you then get buried.

as far as I know, tcd medical school have plenty of bodies hanging around.

Nietzschean

kev there is pretty much a world wide shortage in med schools of cadavers

ApeXaviour

Tbh, a bunch of students poking around my naked remains. My body, my temple, my lifetime home, looking at how I've used/misused it. This does not appeal to me in the slightest.

It's made to sound appealing "donating your body to science". Medical practitioners are not scientists, the practice is much closer to that of voodoo priests.

Donating organs/blood is entirely different.

John

thrill wrote:

If i thought my innards would save a life then i would have no problem with them being removed when i died, however the thought of my body being passed around for all manner of experiments does not go down too well. It sort of gives me the creeps tbh.

The cadavers in the anatomy department are used to teach med students, dentists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, possibly occupational therapists and neuroscientists anatomy. This is vital for them to their jobs which is saving lives, treating the sick and developing cures for diseases. I've done work with cadavers and I can honestly say that the cadavers are treated with an awful lot of respect. There is a proper conduct to follow and the staff and students are completely conscious of the fact that these are people and they are loved by someone. Yes they are dissected but this is essential work. It's not like Frankenstein, there's no mad scientist using bits of you to further some nefarious plot. Equally, it's not like med students are sitting around cadavers laughing maniacally about whatever killed you or that may be wrong with you. Having the chance to see a damaged liver, lungs, heart attack damaged cardio tissue and brains with stroke damage or neurodegeneration is a huge help to them treating living people with these problems.

You can donate organs after you die and possibly give new life to a handful of people. Or you can donate your entire body to anatomy and provide a few hundred students an oppertunity to go out and give new life to thousands of people. I've found my anatomy work more than helpful. Yes I currently work on rat brains but with a means of treating and understanding human conditions. By having practical experience of working with human brains I feel far more confident using animal models and being able to relate it to human models. Books and plastic models are by no means enough.

Time Magazine

I think I'll donate my body to the Economics department. For auction. If I can demand e50 a night how much would someone pay to have me forever?

Tricity Bendix

I'd certainly donate my organs, but I'm a big fan of 'dust to dust'. I want my naked body to be thrown into a ditch so creatures can knaw and be satiated by my fleshy goodness and fauna can benefit from the nutrients I'd eventually be returning to the ground.

But I don't want a medical student poking at my dead penis.

gymrabbit

I remember a funny story my med school friend told me last year. I think the lads like to make educated guesses to why the person died, if they see some rotten lungs - lung cancer, a big dark thing on the heart - stroke/heart attack. One time they had a body sliced at the waist. For whatever reason the top half was facing the up and the bottom half facing down. One of the guys didn't know this, and he says to the other guy I predict this guy died from Fronttoback disease. And the 1st year med guy was like what? I haven't heard of that. and he goes looking at the cadaver when the Lecturer is gone. So pulling across the top sheet can't see anything wrong etc. etc. until he gets to the bottom.

It was funnier when he told me.

Also, I still maintain the idea that TCD doesn't have a real shortage of cadavers. The more the merrier, they just start doing more things with them.

europerson

b.ie curious wrote:

I want my naked body to be thrown into a ditch so creatures can knaw and be satiated by my fleshy goodness and fauna can benefit from the nutrients I'd eventually be returning to the ground.

I'd be quite happy being buried. Long live the underground saprophytes!

But I don't want a medical student poking at my dead penis.

Or vice versa.

Salmon

John,

Although you have mentioned the advantages of body donation, you haven't said whether or not you will be signing up yourself!

hunnymonster

I may not understand correctly, but it appears that they keep the body for 3 years and then your family (or whoever) bury you (or cremate or....) My only concern is that my family would have to deal with grief twice. Once when I actually died and then 3 years later?

shay_562

I mentioned this around my mam once and she got really upset at the idea of not being able to bury me if anything happened to me, so for the foreseeable future I won't be signing up to this. It does seem like a good idea in general, though.

Troglodyte

Ibid wrote:

If I can demand e50 a night

Didn't know you were a rent boy....



Anyway, the thought of getting dissected by a bunch of feckless med students doesn't really appeal. I'd much rather go out with some style. My ideal way of doing this would be to have my dead body stuffed and then displayed somewhere. Ideally sitting in a seat in the Ed Burke. I could become a permanent feature of college, something for the 1st years and tourists to gawp at, and a beloved icon for the college veterans.

John

Salmon wrote:

John,

Although you have mentioned the advantages of body donation, you haven't said whether or not you will be signing up yourself!

I'd have to discuss it with those I'd be leaving behind but I'd have no problem with it. I'm not going to use my body when I'm gone, someone should get some use out of it.

Troglodyte wrote:

I'd much rather go out with some style. My ideal way of doing this would be to have my dead body stuffed and then displayed somewhere. Ideally sitting in a seat in the Ed Burke. I could become a permanent feature of college, something for the 1st years and tourists to gawp at, and a beloved icon for the college veterans.

The anatomy department has a museum of preserved pieces. They have a skeleton of a pygmy type person, an Irish giant, various sections of brain, a spine, eyes, a full head cut in half, a baby's head, etc. You could be another addition.

Crash

can anyone check them out John?

Pet

No, I think you have to be a med student/etc to get into the anatomy building, they're very strict about letting people in.

europerson

On an aside, hasn't the Zoology Department a museum too? Can anyone go in there?

xebec

europerson wrote:

On an aside, hasn't the Zoology Department a museum too? Can anyone go in there?

Tried to get in there once, somewhere in museum building I think, door was locked even though a sign said it should have been open at that time.

Pet

xebec wrote:

Tried to get in there once, somewhere in museum building I think, door was locked even though a sign said it should have been open at that time.

No, no, it's in the Zoology building, and as far as I know anyone can go in there, during opening hours of course. If not, I'm sure a Zoology student will take you in there if you wish.

europerson

xebec wrote:

Tried to get in there once, somewhere in museum building I think, door was locked even though a sign said it should have been open at that time.

That's the Geology Museum. It's closed a lot of the time, it seems.

John

&#231 wrote: »

can anyone check them out John?

No, you're legally not allowed into the anatomy department unless you're a student of the school of medicine.

Zoology museum is upstairs in the zoology building, it's well worth a look. They have a thylacine!

gymrabbit

there's not much stuff on display in the zoology muesum. most of the collection is in cabinets, in a locked room, or in the basement gathering dust.

if anyone wants a guided tour they should contact Pet.

John

There's a fair bit on display that's worth seeing. All the big animals and the random jars. It was deadly when the museum was being renovated and the Auk Room was filled with loads of jars and stuffed animals.

europerson

Is that a great auk room?

gymrabbit

yes.

InFront

ApeXaviour wrote:

It's made to sound appealing "donating your body to science". Medical practitioners are not scientists, the practice is much closer to that of voodoo priests.

Couldn't disagree with you more here. It is an intensely selfless thing to do, and the term "donating your body to science" is simply meant to reflect the nobility and honour of the act. It is not exaggeration to say that these people donate something extraordicary to science, or that they play a wonderful role in the furtherment of science and scietists, of which medical practitioners can certainly be numbered.

Personally I don't like to reflect too seriously on the idea of my death, but Im sure when I get older and these things start to weigh on my mind I'd like to think that I'd be up for it.