Written by Kori Spott
Nobody likes to ponder death. It is a scary, unknown reality of being human. I struggle with this issue, wondering at times what purpose can I serve after death if it is so unknown. However, we can find comfort in knowing what lies ahead of us after death in terms of our corporal body provided we make a decision. Will one donate their body to anatomical education or not? I had to ponder this question deeply, justifying my decision with evidence and personal beliefs. Below, discover my journey of coming to terms with my answer being yes, and make an opinion of your own on the topic.
1. Body Donations over Organ/Tissue Donations
You may be asking yourself, “Why are organ and tissue donations even being brought up?” The answer is that when most people sign up to donate their bodies, they are first asked if they would like to donate their tissues or organs. This is because these donations can have a more immediate impact on saving lives (see Figure 1). I see more benefit in the action of immediately saving lives, which is why I would prefer this donation. To me, having a direct short-term effect is something I greatly prefer to a long-term one. Look at this story to see the effect donating organs can have on other’s lives. However, sometimes organs and tissues cannot are not able to be donated. This usually concerns a person’s illnesses or medical and even social history, as the organs and tissues must be healthy to donate (MyHealth.Alberta.ca, 2020). If this is the case, the body can still be used for research and anatomical dissections as a healthy body is not needed to use the body. If my organs and tissues cannot be accepted and of use, then my body can still be. Overall, I just want my body to serve a purpose, even in death.
Figure 1 What One Donor Can Do Note. Dartmouth Health's (2020) infographic depicts tissue and organ donation statistics in the United States. Health Canada (2023) has supporting information relating to Canadian statistics.
2. If I am dead, why do I need my body?
After my death, I will not have any use for my body. I understand that the body is sacred in some cultures, so in this instance, I understand why individuals would not donate their bodies. For example, some religions in which people participate discourage body donations, such as some Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Catholics (for more information, read the abstract of this paper). However, I have no cultural belief that the body serves a purpose after death and therefore, why should I feel the need to preserve it? I want to be cremated, but this process can be done after anatomical dissection anyway. When thinking of my family, I am very lucky to be surrounded by one who truly loves me and will respect my choice of what I want to do with my body after death. They acknowledge that the decision is personal. This is not always true for everyone though as some families may not be willing to allow their family member to donate their body and pressure them into not making their own decision. This then sparks the debate of personal
autonomy, which I believe everyone has a right to, as your body is your body, but this is a very complicated topic that can be discussed further in the future.
3. My body can be a teacher
The only restriction I would place on using my body is that it must be used for educational or research purposes. As a teacher ensures students understand subjects, provides spaces to learn, and share their knowledge, so can my body, I want my body to educate medical students about the human body and more importantly, give them a space to develop professional values and behaviours. As we all have, injury and illness have affected many of my family members and even myself. Through this, I have learned the importance of having healthcare professionals who are experienced and well trained as promoting the health of all is crucial to contributing to a healthy society. For training these to-be professionals, a cadaver lab is a hands-on personal experience that cannot be replicated even through technology (see Figure 2). “They’re no longer our teachers, they’re no longer tools anymore…. They become what they were before we got them. They become people,” stated Kovacs B. in an article by Helen B. (2008). Dissecting a once-living person teaches students both the importance of empathy and anatomy. These are both much-desired traits in the healthcare world.
Figure 2 Scott, C. (2019). Daniel Kirsch (MED’24), Jesse Moreira (Sargent’24), and Eric Abkin (Sargent’19,’23) at work Note. The image taken by Scott, C. (2019) depicts medical students dissecting a cadaver at Boston University.
4. My death = lives saved
I hope the future medical professionals of the world can apply the knowledge they learned from dissecting my body to help others in the future. I like to think if a surgeon practices a complicated procedure on my lifeless body until they feel fully confident in the process, they may go on one day to perform the same surgery on a living person who can then continue to lead a healthy life thanks to the operation. If my body can be provided as a base for students to learn, I truly believe that the foundation of knowledge will aid in saving lives in the future. My personal beliefs have always included wanting to help others, so being able to have the possibility to do so even in death comforts me in confronting the scariness of dying. And is it not quite amazing that even through death one can help save lives?
I hope the evidence I found along with my personal opinions has helped you form your thoughts on the process of body donation, whatever they are, If after reading my arguments you would like to become a body or organ and tissue donor, you can sign up right now! If you reside in Ontario, the following link will take you directly to the donation website which gives an array of options to take when registering to become a donor. If you are from another province simply look up your province name along with “register to become a body donor.” All further information will be found on the individual provinces' website.
As you can see, I am a firm believer in the practice of body donation. With the ability for medical students and professionals to learn hands-on, we can advance our healthcare knowledge. As I will be dead, my body will have no purpose to me, but it may hold a higher purpose in the future if an innovative research method or surgery procedure is practiced on my corpse. By donating my body, I hope to be of use to society and hopefully save and protect lives in the future. The more I ponder body donation, the more reasons I find to donate. So yes, death may be a scary subject, but knowing how impactful my body can be after I die makes me feel more at ease. I find comfort in my choice, something I can be at peace with for the remainder of my eternal slumber.
References
Beadonor.ca. (n.d., accessed 2024, January 8). How to register your consent. Ontario Health.
Bruzzone, P. (2008, May). Religious aspects of organ transplantation. PubMed.
Dartmouth Health. (2020, May 12). What One Donor Can Do [Infographic]. Cheshire Medical
Government of Prince Edward Island. (2021, April 26). Young boy saves five lives through organ
donation. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/news/young-boy-saves-five-lives-through-organ-donation
Health Canada (2023, March 15). Blood, Organ and Tissue Donation. Government of Canada.
Helen B. (2008, November 24). How to donate your body to science. Toronto Star.
MyHealth.Alberta.ca. (2020, March 31). Organ and Tissue Donation in Alberta. Government of
Scott, C. (2019). Daniel Kirsch (MED’24), Jesse Moreira (Sargent’24) and Eric Abkin (Sargent’19,’23) at work [photograph]. Boston University. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/cadaver-lab/
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