My Uncle Loren is dying.

Two years ago, Loren was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare type of malignant cancer usually affecting the thin tissue lining the lungs. It has been painful to witness this once vibrant athletic man (a long-distance runner throughout his adult life) slowly shrink from 170 to 100 pounds, and his once commanding voice reduced to no more than a whisper as he gasps for breath whenever trying to speak.

As a career naval officer Loren led a life of service to his country. As he nears end-of-life he wants to be of service one last time and has decided to donate his body to science upon his death so that medical researchers can learn more about how to prevent and treat the disease that is killing him.

My Uncle Tom recently died of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder affecting the brain and nervous system that over the course of 10 years robbed Tom of his ability to walk or control his body’s movements. As Parkinson’s slowly altered the landscape of his contented life Tom too made the decision to donate his body to medical science upon his death in the hope that a cure could be found for the disease that so devastated his life.

I admire both Loren’s and Tom’s heartfelt desire to reduce the suffering of others by donating their bodies to the cause of scientific research.

But I am struggling.

I’m struggling with the decision made by both men’s immediate families not to hold any sort of funeral or memorial service to honor two such honorable men. The main reasons given are that without a body present a memorial is too difficult to manage and unnecessary. I hope their families will reconsider. We grieve in community – gathering is how we begin the healing process after loss. Whole body donation does not preclude holding a memorial service. Yes, making funeral arrangements when a body is not present may require greater creativity but you can still celebrate your loved one’s life as if their body or cremated remains were present; or you can choose to acknowledge your loved one’s passing in a way that gives tribute to the decision they made to benefit the greater good through whole body donation.

Donating Your Body to Science

Until my Uncle Tom made the choice to donate his body to science, I knew very little about what body donation meant. This is what I’ve learned:

Donating your body to science (also known as whole body donation) is a bequest an individual makes to a medical research institution or educational program to help advance medical knowledge and training. To take part in a whole-body donation or an anatomy bequest program an individual must register with a program of their choosing prior to death*; family members cannot make a donation on a loved one’s behalf. Local and regional medical schools can help provide guidance on how to go about making a body donation.

Medical schools and research programs usually use donated bodies to:

  • Teach medical students about anatomy
  • Train professionals in surgery
  • Discover things about the human body that contribute to greater understanding, prevention and cure of diseases and medical conditions

Reputable research organizations and top medical schools have safeguards in place to ensure that donors’ bodies are treated with care and respect, and that no money is made from a person’s bequest.

Why People Choose to Leave Their Body to Science

The reasons why Tom left his body to science, and why Loren will too, are common: the desire to do something for the good of society; the desire to help contribute to the curing of a disease; and the belief that the body in and of itself can be a legacy.

Not All Bodies Are Accepted for Medical Research

Some bodies are not acceptable for donation for reasons such as:

  • Too much time has passed since death
  • Open or unhealed wounds
  • Recent surgery
  • Transmissible infectious diseases such as HIV, AIDS, or Hepatitis B or C
  • The loss of too many limbs or organs
  • Extensive trauma at the time of death including violent death or suicide
  • Certain deformities of the limbs
  • Extreme emaciation or obesity
  • A lack of mortuary space
  • The need for a post-mortem

If a loved one’s body has experienced any of the above it can be a good idea to make funeral plans just in case your loved one’s body is not accepted.

What Eventually Happens to Your Loved One’s Body

A medical school or research institution will usually keep a donated body for one to three years after which time the body is cremated and the cremains returned to the donor’s family. Some donation programs host annual memorial services to honor donors’ contributions to medical research and education in which family members and loved ones are invited to participate.

Celebrating Your Loved One’s Life

Cremation of a loved one’s remains is now commonplace. And many cultural traditions such as with the Jewish faith do not have an open casket at a funeral but rather a closed casket with a picture of the deceased often resting upon the coffin. In other words, whole body donation does not preclude holding a memorial service in much the same way many people already celebrate a loved one’s life when a body or cremains are present. Other options can be considered as well as part of a unique memorial service that honors your loved one’s bequest. This could include:

  • Sharing your loved one’s reasons for donating their body to science and information about the positive impact of your loved one’s donation
  • Sharing memories of your loved one’s life in much the same way as you might at any other funeral but with reference to whole body donation
  • Filling a casket with belongings and items your loved one treasured as part of a funeral service
  • Burying a photo of your loved one as part of a larger memorial

Although my uncles’ families have decided against memorials for Tom, and for Loren when the time comes, my siblings and I do not want to forego celebrating the passing of two men who contributed to our childhood happiness and served for us as positive role models; with that in mind we are now talking about how to celebrate both Tom and Loren at our next sibling reunion. We have happy memories to share of traveling with Tom and his partner as they traversed the country selling high-end antiques at high-end antique shows. It is too soon to say how we will celebrate Loren, only that we will.

It will be an honor to honor the lives of these two men - and also an honor to honor the legacy of whole body donation they each made to contribute to the greater good.

Sources

MedCure – https://medcure.org/donor
https://www.life-source.org>latest>whole-body-donation
https://www.bereavementadvice.org
https://mayoclinic.org>body-donation