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Everything You Wanted To Know About Donating Your Body

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Bernardo Garcia
Everything You Wanted To Know About Donating Your Body

Everyone wants to leave their legacy when they depart from this world, and organ donation is the best way to do so. You can donate your organs or your whole body after your death. If you are looking for more information, here are some important ones.

 

What organs can be donated?

The most common organ that is donated after death are eyes but there are other organs that can also be donated within hours of death. It includes kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, small intestine as well as tissues and bones. As per American Transplant Foundation, a timely donation from one person can save 100 lives!

 

Can we have a funeral after donating organs?

After organ donation, the body is treated extremely respectfully and given back to the family with proper care. Hence having an open-casket funeral is ok in such cases. Otherwise, you can opt for a closed casket funeral. Even without the body, you can have a funeral with just a picture of the deceased person. The funeral home where the funeral is held will guide your family members once they let them know that you are a body donor.

 

How do I prepare for a body donation?

If you want to be a donor, especially a body donor, first make sure your family and friends know about it because it will be them who will have to notify the hospital and other institutes. Then contact the institute, generally a medical institute you want to donate to, and fill out the paperwork. You can find a list of universities where you can donate your body from the website of the University of Florida. If you have any questions, don’t forget to get them clarified. There may be some cost associated with the donation, so ask about it beforehand. You will have to provide detailed information especially medical history because not everyone can be a body donor. Sometimes, the facility you choose may not need a whole body; in that case, you can select another facility. Once everything is finalized, be sure to tell your family members, and most importantly, give the contact number of the facility so that they can collect the organ or the body in due time.

 

Can I donate both my organs and my body?

Ideally, people opt for organ donation or full body donation, but you can also opt for both. However, organ donation is done before and all viable organs will be removed before full body donation takes place. In such a scenario, the institute may refuse to take the body as it has been compromised. So, it is better to opt for either one of them.

 

Can my donation be refused after my death?

If you signed up for body donation when healthy, but then died due to cancer, lung disease, heart disease, or malignant tumor, then your body may not be accepted as a donated body. Another reason why your body donation may fail is if you died under mysterious circumstances and your body needs an autopsy. In such cases, even organ donation may not become viable as donations have to be made within hours of death. Another scenario where your donation may not take place is if you die of an accident and the body is too damaged to be used after donation.

 

What should my family members do to facilitate my donation?

The first thing your family members should do is notify the hospital or the place where you passed away that you are an organ/body donor. That will make sure that your organs are removed within viable hours. If it is organ donation, the body then can be moved to the funeral home where the funeral will be held. For body donation, it can be removed after your family members have said a final goodbye.


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Bernardo Garcia
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