Over the years, I have had a number of people ask me about how to make an anatomical gift after they are gone. An anatomical gift is a gift of your organs, body parts or your entire body for transplant, therapy, research or education.
There are a number of ways in which you can make an anatomical gift. You can put a statement or symbol on your driver’s license or your state identification card. You can put it in your will or other properly signed and witnessed documents. If you are terminal, you can communicate your wishes to at least two adults, one of whom is unrelated and neither of whom can be your attending physician.
To make sure that your anatomical gift donation would be followed, sometimes it is best to use a combination of methods. One way is to sign up on one of the nonprofit organ donor registries. These registries are generally confidential 24/7/365 computerized databases that document your wish to be an organ, tissue and/or eye donor. With a registry, you usually get a sticker to put on your Michigan driver’s license or state ID card. One such service in Michigan is the Michigan Organ Donor Registry.
You could have your anatomical gift request held by a private medical database service such as DocuBank. DocuBank not only holds your anatomical gift request, but your emergency contact information, medical condition and allergy listing, physician information, your durable power of attorney for health care and your living will. DocuBank is a 24/7/365 computerized database which holds your information and documents and is fully accessible anywhere in the world. There is a nominal fee for annual registration for this service. DocuBank also gives you a sticker that you can place on your driver’s license or state ID indicating your wishes.
In your durable power of attorney for health care, you could give the power to make an anatomical gift to your health care agent/patient advocate. Your patient advocate would then have the authority to make an anatomical gift of all or part of your body.
You may have a concern that your life would end prematurely in the interest of harvesting your organs. By law, every effort has to be made to prolong your life in accordance with your wishes, before an anatomical donation is considered. Also by law, the medical team that is treating you must be separate from the transplant team. Generally, with the exception of lifetime gifts that you authorize such as a kidney or bone marrow, body part recoveries can only be pursued after all life saving measures have been exhausted and you are officially declared dead.
It costs nothing to donate your organs or tissue and no costs associated with the donation should be passed on to your estate. Organ and tissue donations should not visually effect your remains and funeral viewings can be held the same as if you had not made a donation. Even in the case where you are donating your entire body, if certain procedures are followed, you can still donate your entire body for study after the viewings and funeral service.
There are two organizations in Michigan that work hand in hand for organ and tissue donation and they are the Gift of Life and the Michigan Eye Bank. Both of these are nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to organ and tissue donation and will actually act as an intermediary for you between the hospital staff and funeral home to assist your family in making sure that your wishes would be followed to the greatest extent possible.
There are no guarantees with anatomical gifts. Just because you direct that your body or parts be used for transplant, therapy, research or education, does not necessarily make it so. Your anatomical gifts must be examined and be acceptable to the medical school, anatomy department or organ transplant team.
Most of the universities who have medical schools or anatomy departments have a research and/or education body donation programs. You should contact them and register with them directly to increase the likelihood that your body would be acceptable to them. After the research or study, your remains are typically cremated and are either returned to your family to be placed in the family burial plot or they are buried by the university in a cemetery plot reserved for their donors.
I have some clients that are absolutely adamant that they want to be buried with all of their body parts. Other clients say, ” I’m dead. I don’t need anything anymore. If somebody can use anything, use it”. I have had a number of clients in between who only want to give certain body parts. The great thing about America is you have choices, you can do whatever you want.
I have heard some people say, “I’m too old. There is nothing left of my body that is useable.” That may not be true. There is always a need for bodies and body parts. There are long waiting lists for people in need of transplants. Many times, even if your eyesight is poor, you may have a good transplantable cornea that could give somebody the gift of sight. You may have skin that may be used to aid a burn victim or bone that could be used for an accident victim. I am a recipient of donor tissue that was used to repair a gum condition.
Anatomy departments of medical and biology schools are usually in need of bodies and parts for study. Even if nothing is useable for transplant, your organs, eyes or even your entire body could be used for research and study. It’s your body. Do what you choose.
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA JD
Published edited May 24, 2009 in The Times Herald newspaper, Port Huron, Michigan as: Various options available for organ donation