Strictly speaking, you cannot donate your body directly to science. You can donate it to a number of reputable institutions that can find a number of uses for your body, although the process, and what actually happens after death, can be a bit confusing.
For example, in the United States , the process is not strictly regulated and is somewhat controversial. The American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) provides accreditation for organizations that wish to accept bodily donations, as does the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine, but there is no legal obligation to do so, leading to some questionable tactics. …
In Spain, one of these institutions is the Department of Anatomy and Embryology of the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid.
In the UK , the process is a bit stricter. It is regulated by the Human Tissue Authority , which has a list of 19 licensed medical institutions that can be contacted to begin the body donation process through a series of documents.
Under the Human Tissues Act 2004, it is illegal to sell body parts in the UK (it is not in the US).
There are several conditions that must be met for a body donation to be accepted . Applicant must have no history of communicable diseases and must also be in general good health before death (severely obese bodies are not accepted). In the same way, if an autopsy is required or the death has been violent, medical institutions will not accept the body.
What happens next is a bit more complicated. There are strict guidelines that must be followed after death, including proper ethical treatment of the corpse. Some institutions may even hold a memorial service.
If they finally accept our body, it can be embalmed by a medical institution after death, which means that liquid is injected to disinfect the body and prepare it for dissection. After this, the body is stored in a refrigerator for later use which could be months later or even up to 10 years later. This is the deadline by which a body can be preserved.
Bodies that have been embalmed can be used by students for dissection. It can take months to remove the skin and examine muscles, nerves, and organs. Better not imagine it. When the investigation is complete, all the remains are collected and cremated.
There are many other things a body can be used for. Some are used as crash test dummies, with X-rays and autopsies being used to examine any damage to the corpse. In the US, some bodies are used for forensic investigation at a body farm run by the University of Tennessee. Others may even be displayed in exhibitions, either in whole or in part.
In the UK, you can even specify which institution we would like to take care of our body after death. Bodies listed as intended for anatomical education can be used by medical students for dissection and other research, such as investigating specific diseases. Also, unless the donor has established stricter time restrictions, the body is cremated after 3 years.
As we have commented, in the United States the process is much less regulated. Some bodies are rented several times to different institutions. It is possible to indicate a specific disease for which we would like the body to be used, but there is no guarantee that this will occur due to difficulties with different demands for cadavers.
In spite of everything, we must not forget that the donation of a body to science is extremely useful in medical research.
