Demystifying body donation
Body donation isn’t something people often like to discuss; it conjures unpleasant images of Victorian body snatchers, Frankenstein’s creature and other macabre and ghoulish tropes. However, donation of bodies to medical science is a valuable gift to healthcare professionals during their training, or for various kinds of significant research.
What is body donation?
Body donation is the act of giving your whole body after death to a medical school or research institution for use in education, research or training. It differs from organ donation, as it requires the whole body, rather than specified, individual organs.
Donated bodies are used to teach students or healthcare professionals about the structure and function of the human body, for scientific studies which improve the understanding of the human body and for training healthcare professionals on surgical techniques.
Hundreds of people in the UK donate their bodies to science each year. For example, Nearly 20,000 people are currently registered with the London Anatomy Office to donate their body. Each year, approximately 350 donated bodies are accepted by the London Anatomy Office on behalf of nine teaching institutions.
History
In ancient Greece and Egypt of the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, human dissection was a common method of learning about the body and its inner workings. However, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, dissection was prohibited, being viewed as sacrilegious. Renaissance Italy saw the first systematic studies of the human body and brain. This was due to scientists being allowed to dissect human bodies again for study for the first time in centuries. Dispute the practice flourishing during this period, dissection of human bodies continued to be widely prohibited in Europe.
In 1832, The Anatomy Act was introduced; a UK Parliament act that gave legal access to human bodies for medical schools and dissection. The act was passed in response to public outrage over the illegal trade of corpses, also known as body snatching and ‘burking’ (after the murderers William Burke and William Hare. Ironically, the skeleton of William Burke ended up at the Anatomy Museum, University of Edinburgh).
The act's provisions included:
Legal access to bodies: Surgeons and students were given legal access to unclaimed bodies from prisons, hospitals, and workhouses 48 hours after death.
Donations: Individuals could donate the bodies of next of kin for medical study.
Inspector's office: A new office was established to issue and manage anatomy licenses.
The Anatomy Act of 1832 served as a model for legislation around the world and allowed people to make the valuable gifts of their bodies to medical schools for research and education.
Where do donated bodies go?
While most bodies are donated to medical schools for more orthodox study and research, there are other, more unusual options. For example, body farms are facilities where decomposition of bodies is studied by researchers. Bodies are placed in different conditions, such as partially buried or above ground, to track how this affects the decomposition process.
Another fascinating example is Body Worlds, a travelling exhibition that features preserved human bodies and other anatomical structures to educate the public about the human body. The bodies are preserved through a process called plastination, which involves replacing bodily fluids with polymers to create dry, odourless specimens. The bodies are then posed in specific ways to illustrate bodily features and create dramatic effect.
In some countries, the Department of Defence also uses donors to test the impact of new technology, such as the impact of explosions on the human body.
“I read about it in a magazine and I didn’t hesitate. I’m not a religious person. At the end of the day it’s my decision and if it helps one person I’d be happy.”
What happens to donated bodies afterwards?
Medical schools usually arrange for donated bodies to be cremated, unless your family specifically request for your body to be returned for a private burial or cremation. They may also hold a committal or memorial service to honour the deceased.
The cost of the cremation is often covered by the medical school; however, they do not usually cover further funeral arrangements or burials.
For example, at the University of Cambridge, a Committal Service (combined funeral service) is held within the department prior to the cremation or burial of the donor, this is attended by the staff and students who have been taught by the donor in that year.
Members of the public are unable to attend cremations or burials but they can provide next of kin/executors with copies of the individual tributes that each group of students wrote for their particular donor. Relatives and friends are invited to join a Memorial Service held in Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge every year.
Why do people donate their bodies?
Some people choose to donate their bodies because they want to make their death meaningful, to be able to help the next generation of anatomists, surgeons and doctors in their training, or to aid research in to diseases that could help future generations. Others may simply want to save on funeral costs; as many institutions offer free cremation when work with the donated body is complete. For those who wish to donate their organs, after a certain age this is no longer possible, so for those who wish to make a donation in older age, donating their whole body is an option available to them.
“My family has given bodies to science going back at least three generations. I’m not a religious man. When you are gone, you are gone. I’ve been a science teacher all my life and I’ll be a science teacher when I’m dead.”
How to donate your body
To donate your body to a medical school or research establishment in the UK, you can:
Contact your local medical school for more information and to obtain consent forms.
Talk to your family and friends about your decision.
Complete the consent form provided by the medical school. You must sign the form in the presence of a witness.
Keep a copy of the completed form with your will.
Tell your family, close friends, executor, and doctor about your intention to donate.
You must be at least 17 years old to donate your body. You must also make your wishes known in writing and have them witnessed before you die. No one else can give consent after your death.
It is however, possible that a body will not be accepted for body donation. The University of Cambridge states it is unable to accept the donation if the donor is required to undergo post-mortem examination, has had recent surgery, carries a transmissible infection, has a condition which has substantially altered normal anatomy, or if the period of time between death and the university’s acceptance exceeds six days.
Would you donate your body to medical science?
Body donation is a valuable gift that helps scientists, researchers and surgeons to learn, practice and discover. Is it something you might consider? Let us know your thoughts on body donation in the comments section below.
For more on medical research, visit our Research Library.
