Anatomical Gifts: A Compassionate Alternative to a Traditional Funeral

Anatomical Gifts: A Compassionate Alternative to a Traditional Funeral
Anatomical Gifts: A Compassionate Alternative to a Traditional Funeral
A full body donation is one of the most compassionate alternatives to a funeral. A full body donation is not the same as organ donation. Although organ donation is perhaps a better known alternative to a funeral, anatomical donations are a much greater gift to the future of humankind. By donating your body to science, you are helping give surgeons a learning opportunity which may lead to a more efficient technique or a new life-saving surgical procedure. Your full body donation makes cutting edge developments in the fields of cancer treatment, thoracic research and neurology studies possible.

Anatomical donations allow research institutions to discover new ways to fight serious diseases and disorders such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. At LifeQuest, we also work closely with surgical teaching institutions. LifeQuest is affiliated with Innovations in Medical Education and Training (IMET), an organization of healthcare professionals committed to an ever-improving medical education standard. We carefully match anatomical gifts to the needs of accredited medical research institutions for the greatest benefit to research and education. A LifeQuest surgical technician accompanies the whole body donor at each stage of the journey. This commitment has made LifeQuest the program of choice for the leading research and teaching institutions in the nation.

Donating your body to science carries an unfair stigma. The process of making an anatomical gift is really not that much different than the preparations that a mortician makes for a standard funeral. Unlike a standard funeral, however, the donation process provides viable tissues and specimens for research and study. When LifeQuest receives notice of the death of a potential donor, we discuss the possibility of donation with the family and physician. With family and medical consent, we recover the anatomical gifts most needed by research facilities and surgical teaching institutions. The remains are then cremated and may be returned to the family if they so choose.

If you or a loved one is considering cremation as an alternative to a traditional funeral, please consider making an anatomical gift. LifeQuest provides a free cremation to those who make a full body donation to science. Making an anatomical gift is a final act of caring and leaves a legacy of hope for the future. Contact LifeQuest to request a donation packet and learn more about this procedure.