How Donating Your Body to Science Works

On the fence about whether or not to donate your body to science? Perhaps you'll develop some clarity if you look at the pros and cons.

Pros: The biggest pro for donating your body is that you'll be helping advance science, medicine and potentially a host of other fields, such as car safety (more about that on the next page). Cadavers are used to teach students about anatomy; they're used by students and physicians to practice various surgeries; and they're used in medical experiments to study diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's [source: Testa].

Another advantage of donating your body is that it saves you a boatload of money. Funerals aren't cheap. Neither is cremation. In 2012, the average cost of a funeral with casket was $7,045, and a funeral with a vault, required by most cemeteries, was $8,343 [source: National Funeral Directors Association]. Even a simple cremation runs at least $1,500 and can set you back as much as $6,000 if it's performed following a funeral service [source: Testa]. Donating your body is generally free, although there can be some minor charges, depending on which organization you're working with [source: Marsden].

Finally, arranging to donate your body can be a lot less time-consuming than planning a funeral, picking out a casket and headstone, etc. However, if you still want to plan a memorial service when your cremains are returned to your family, it may be a wash.

Cons: For various medical reasons, not all bodies donated are able to be accepted. If you don't have a contingency plan in place and your body is rejected, your loved ones will be left scrambling to put together a funeral at a very stressful time. Even worse, if you hadn't planned for this possibility, they could be left with a sizeable, unexpected bill.

Always been a fan of organ donation? While some organizations, like Science Care, accept bodies for both organ and whole-body donation, most medical schools only accept bodies with all of their organs, since they use organs in their research (eyes still may be donated.) If organ donation is important to you, make sure you know the rules of the group who will be taking your body [source: Testa].

Last, remember that once you die, your body needs to be handed over pretty quickly. While your family will eventually receive your cremains and may hold a memorial service at that time, they will generally not be able to have a funeral with your body shortly after death, and then donate it. Some people may miss the therapeutic aspect of holding a funeral service, although they may opt for a memorial service without the body.