Hundreds of people across the UK apply to become body donors every year, though not all of them are accepted.
The key element if you are considering donating your body to medical science is to put your consent in writing. No one else is able to do it on your behalf, and certainly not after you die.
It must be done by you and be seen to be an appropriate, signed and witnessed consent.
However there is no guarantee that a facility, such as a university or hospital, will accept a donor. The School of Medicine at the University of Leeds receives around 70 bodies each year. Numbers easily reach the required figure, which means that sometimes donations must be refused. In many cases an alternative site is found so that the bequest is not wasted.
Thus the school might turn down a donor if it does not have the capacity or if it has as many as it needs, although in the majority of cases donors are refused for medical reasons.
All bodies that are donated to the University of Leeds are embalmed, which means they can be used for anything between 18 months and three years for training medical students and surgeons.
Donor bodies can be made available for a range of teaching courses such as liver transplants and hip replacements. Over the course of three years some bodies can be used multiple times.
There is an array of restrictions on donations. There may be limitations around people who have suffered with certain forms of cancer or those who have undergone a post mortem. Obese people may also not be accepted as body donors.
Once the anatomical examination has been completed the donor’s remains may be released to the next of kin for a private funeral, which can sometimes be as long as two or three years after the individual’s death. Alternatively they can opt for the university to deal with the funeral and cover the costs.
This latter scenario has led to some people applying to become body donors in an attempt to help relatives avoid paying for a funeral when they die.
Family members do not attend a cremation arranged by the university. They receive the ashes later in order to arrange a committal service. Instead all donors are remembered at an annual memorial service attended by relatives and students, who give readings. The Medical School Choir also sings. Upwards of 400 people regularly attend.
The university has given details of body donation after the Examiner reported how 82-year-old Neil Simpson and his wife Margot decided to donate their bodies to medical science.
Mr Simpson, of Birchencliffe, made the decision in his 60s and still has no regrets.
“We’re talking about a subject that people don’t normally discuss, but they should consider it, like giving blood.
It’s the next step.“For me it came out of the blue. Nobody pushed me; it was just something I could do. And I want to do my share.”
