Bequeathed My Body .

[EDDIE51]

I have now officially bequeathed my body to Cambridge University Medical School.
It will be used for students to practice on. I think it is the least I can do to repay the debt I owe to Cambridge Addenbrokes for saving my life, my wife's life and my youngest son's life over the last 30 years. What are others views?
It is very easy to do ,once registered if you die in hospital the medical school will arrange to collect the body , if you die outside hospital all the family have to do is arrange for my body to be taken to an undertaker for refrigerated storage and the medical school will pick it up.
No funeral so no expense. The medical school pay all the costs for death certificates etc.
The family get a framed certificate to commemorate the donation.

[Cloverjo]

I'm thinking about that for my body when I'm gone, Eddie. What do your family think about it, though? Won't they want a way to say goodbye?

[NoMercy]

That's a very noble thing to do, Eddie. My great grandmother did the same. She was a concert pianist and she also left a beautiful big house in Wembley to charity.

[Tilly2]

Did they have to examine you first, Eddie? Do they refuse people at all?

[Sqad]

I am not sure about my facts Eddie, but i don't think that there is a shortage of cadavers.
In my day 1953, there were about 15 cadavers in the dissecting room at one time and about 4 students to one body and one dissected him/her over a period of 18 months until there was just a "heap" on the table.
I gather that the modern medical student doesn't dissect the whole body and that he learns his anatomy by prosections (pre dissected parts prepared by a demonstrator).
In which case the number of cadavers is much reduced.

[ummmm]

I don't think they take all the bodies bequeathed to them

[NoMercy]

You make it sound way too glamorous, Sqad.

[Sqad]

LOL NoM we all had nicknames for our particular cadavers and at the end of the dissecting room the bodies would come up on a lift and be met by Percy who looked like a "living cadaver" and watched him embalm them.

[NoMercy]

Great... I think I'll skip breakfast today.

[EDDIE51]

The family can still arrange the sort of post funeral get together that normally happens, just that there is no funeral beforehand just the booze up and food.
They do not examine you at the time you make the bequest as it is the condition of the body at the time of death that counts. It does say that very few bodies are refused as even parts of a body are useful. Death from contagious diseases would rule out accepting the body though.
I have given permission for my body to be kept indefinitely , but you can set a 3 year time limit.

[Zacs-Master]

Very altruistic Eddie and practical at the same time. Good for you.

[EDDIE51]

Ummmm, I talked to the lady at the medical school who deals with bequeathal and she says there is a serious shortage of bodies, so bad it is affecting training. So they are grateful for any they can get. Very few are refused as I said in my last post.

[Zacs-Master]

Watch out for medical students offering you a cup of tea Eddie! ;-)

[EDDIE51]

Also a lot of people get bequeathing your body to a medical school as I have done, confused with 'leaving your body to science' . The latter is when a body is needed to research a new treatment or drug and they are a lot more careful about which bodies they take. Even a body with amputated limbs is still useful to students in a medical school.

[youngmafbog]

That is very interesting Eddie. When I made enquiries, via my daughter who was at medical school at the time, I was told they have enough and many are not used. So my body parts are all up for grabs.

I had always wanted my skeleton taken round the pubs in rag week but I doubt that will ever happen.

[EDDIE51]

Cambridge is a very large medical school so possibly they have a greater need for cadavers than others. A salient point is that some religions ( Islam for one) forbid the use of a body in such a way as they consider it to be sacred .

[hc4361]

The last two 'funeral' services that I have been did not include the body at all. There had been a private, family only cremation an hour or so before and the church service for everyone was after.

No reason why a religious family could not have such a service in this case, or a gathering at the local pub or wherever.

[hc4361]

What will happen if you need a post mortem, Eddie?

[EDDIE51]

^ Exactly you can have a commemoration service at a church and then go to a pub or wherever for drinks and food.

[EDDIE51]

hc4361, I asked that and was told a post mortem is not normally a reason to refuse the body.

[jno]

I hope they're not getting their hands on yours any time soon, ummmm.