Prev NEXT

How Donating Your Body to Science Works

By: Melanie Radzicki McManus  |  Updated: Apr 4, 2023

Creative Forms of Body Donation

body worlds
Visitors view a full body human specimen during a "Body Worlds" exhibition, which features real human bodies and organs donated to medical science and preserved using "plastination."
© Vesterinen Viktor/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

Every country that allows whole-body donation has its own rules regulating the practice. Most, if not all, countries that allow the practice use cadavers to train medical students and conduct research into various ailments, such as Alzheimer's disease. But other countries allow other uses for donated bodies. Perhaps one of the following uses for a cadaver, all allowed in the U.S., will be more appealing to you than research or dissection.

  • Crash Testing. Have a need for speed in this life? Your corpse can carry on this predilection if you allow its use in crash testing. Although computer simulations and dummies are also used, nothing compares to a cadaver when simulating what happens to the human body during various types of car crashes. The practice began in the 1930s at Indiana's Wayne State University. Today automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration help fund cadaver testing at various educational institutions [source: Hyde].
  • Forensic studies. It's not always easy for law enforcement or medical experts to determine a corpse's time of death or identify a partially decomposed body. But thanks to The Body Farm run by the University of Tennessee's Forensic Anthropology Center, they're better able to figure such things out. About 1,800 corpses in the UTK Skeletal Collection, where researchers and students come to study bodies in various stages of decay [source: Cohen]. About 4,000 more people are future donors. 
  • Plastination. If you're one of the masses around the globe to have caught a Body Worlds plastination exhibit, the hardened, creatively posed bodies might have captivated you. Intended for health and education purposes, plastination is the process of removing fat and water from bodies and inserting rubber silicone in their stead. Just know that if you sign on as a donor, your body won't necessarily go on tour; some plastinated cadavers end up at medical schools and training programs [source: Cohen].
  • Skeleton-formation. The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque operates the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, which is always looking to add to its extensive skeleton collection. No, the skeletons aren't on display; researchers apply to work with them for reasons of physical anthropology and forensics [source: Laboratory of Human Osteology].

Advertisement

Author's Note: How Donating Your Body to Science Works

The minute I got my driver's license at age 16, I signed up to be an organ donor. But after researching and writing this piece, I'm not sure I could take the next step and donate my entire body. I'm not sure why I'm hesitant, but I am.

Related Articles

More Great Links

Sources

  • Aleccia, Jonel. "Donating your body to science? Nobody wants a chubby corpse." NBC News. Jan. 9, 2012. (June 29, 2015) http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/donating-your-body-science-nobody-wants-chubby-corpse-f1C6436539
  • Armour, Stephanie. "Donated Bodies Sometimes Are Sold for Personal Profit." USA Today. April 28, 2006. (July 1, 2015) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-04-27-body-parts-sold_x.htm
  • Asad, Asad and Michel Anteby and Filiz Garip. "Who donates their bodies to science? The Combined Role of Gender and Migration Status Among California Whole-body Donors." Harvard University. April 2014. (July 1, 2015) https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=46412
  • Body Worlds. "Mission of the Exhibitions." (July 4, 2015) https://bodyworlds.com/exhibitions/human/
  • Borel, Brooke. "What happens when you donate your body to science?" Popular Science. Oct. 3, 2013. (July 1, 2015) http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/body-research
  • Bushey, Claire. "Cadaver Supply: The Last Industry to Face Big Changes." Crain's Chicago Business. Feb. 23, 2013. (July 1, 2015) http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130223/ISSUE01/302239987/cadaver-supply-the-last-industry-to-face-big-changes
  • Cohen, Elizabeth. "Ten Uses for Your Body After You Die." CNN. Oct. 28, 2010. (July 1, 2015) https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/10/health/body-use-after-death/index.html
  • Derbyshire, David. "Why People Leave Their Bodies to Medical Research — and What Happens." The Guardian. March 10, 2015. (July 1, 2015) http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/10/body-medical-research-donate-death-science-brain
  • Doughty, Caitlin. "The Practical Nobility of Donating Your Body to Science." The Atlantic. Sept. 15, 2014. (June 29, 2015) http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/smoke-gets-in-your-eyes/378685/
  • Fernandez, Elizabeth. "Bodies Donated to Science Offer Invaluable Hands-on Lessons in Anatomy Lab." University of California San Francisco. Sept. 26, 2012. (July 1, 2015) http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/09/12751/bodies-donated-science-offer-invaluable-hands-lessons-anatomy-lab
  • Fox News. "Some 250 Corpses Donated To Science Found Rotting In Spanish University's Basement." May 20, 2014. (July 1, 2015) https://www.foxnews.com/health/some-250-corpses-donated-to-science-found-rotting-in-spanish-universitys-basement
  • Kennedy, Maev. "Grim Exhibition Shows Role of Grave Robbers in Medical Science." The Guardian. May 21, 2014. (June 29, 2015) http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/oct/17/exhibition-grave-robbers-medical-science
  • Marsden, Sara. "Whole Body Donation in the United States." US Funerals Online. Oct. 23, 2014. (July 1, 2015) http://www.us-funerals.com/funeral-articles/donating-a-body-to-science.html#.VZQi4VKGNCA
  • Mayo Clinic. "Benefits of Body Donation." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/benefits
  • Mayo Clinic. "Biocremation (resomation)." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/biocremation-resomation
  • Mayo Clinic. "Body Donation at Mayo Clinic's Ccampus in Minnesota." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/overview
  • Mayo Clinic. "Convocation of Thanks." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/convocation-thanks
  • Mayo Clinic. "Costs Associated With Body Donation." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/costs
  • Mayo Clinic. "Making a Donation." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/making-donation
  • Mayo Clinic. "Why a Donation May Be Denied." (July 1, 2015) http://www.mayoclinic.org/body-donation/why-donation-denied
  • Miller, Jim. "How to Save Money by Donating Your Body to Science." Huffington Post. Nov. 24, 2012. (June 29, 2015) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-t-miller/how-to-save-money-by-donating-your-body-to-science_b_2162564.html
  • Museum of Human Osteology. "About Us." (July 4, 2015) https://osteolab5.wixsite.com/osteolab/about-us
  • Mütter Museum. "FAQ." (July 4, 2015) http://muttermuseum.org/about/faq/
  • National Funeral Directors Association. "Statistics." June 4, 2014. (July 1, 2015) https://nfda.org/news/statistics#:~:text=Cost%20of%20a%20Funeral%3A%20The,with%20cremation%20was%20approximately%20%246%2C971.
  • Science Care. "Donate Your Body To Science." (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/
  • Science Care. "Frequently Asked Questions." (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/whole-body-donation-faq/
  • Science Care. "How does the body donation process work?" (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/how-does-the-body-donation-process-work/
  • Science Care. "Organ Donation." (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/organ-donation-save-lives/
  • Science Care. "Understanding Whole Body Donation." (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/body-donation-overview/
  • Science Care. "Why donate?" (June 29, 2015) http://www.sciencecare.com/why-donate/
  • Testa, Mike. "Body Donation: the Advantages and Disadvantages." Funeral-Tips. May 24, 2015. (June 29, 2015) 
  • Testa, Mike. "Cremation costs — How much does a cremation with services cost?" Funeral-Tips. June 8, 2015. (July 1, 2015) 
  • University of Florida State Anatomical Board. "Body Donation Programs in the United States." Oct. 6, 2009. (July 1, 2015) https://anatbd.acb.med.ufl.edu/
Citation