What happens when you donate your body to science after your death?

Knowing for sure that one day will leave the world, many people choose to be buried when they die. Others want to be cremated or even put their remains in space.

What happens when you donate your body to science?

All of these methods do not seem to bring much benefit to those who stay. However, choosing to donate the body to science can ensure a person continues to contribute to society even after death. So what will happen to the body of the donor?

In the United States, industry laws and standards provide guidance on practices and principles for dealing with " anatomical gifts ". Once the body is donated to science, the donor often has no requirement for how the corpse will be used, although a small number of agencies still respect their requirements, if any. The bodies will be divided according to research needs and market.

Once the donation is in the hands of a research specialist or health professional, they are likely to be used for a variety of scientific purposes .

According to the US National Library of Medicine, a donor of his or her internal organs and tissues can save or improve the lives of up to 50 others. The internal organs can be stored after the dead include the kidneys, hearts, lungs, pancreas, intestines, skin, cornea, .

OrganDonor.gov statistics show that, in 2013, 28,954 people received organ transplants donated. Each day, on average, 79 people experience this process. And on average, 21 people need an organ transplant every day while waiting for the appropriate donor.

Future doctors are trained in medical schools. The first autopsy surgery is a long-standing initiation ritual for medical school students. In particular, during the first few years of study, they learned anatomy not only through books, but also through surgery and examination of corpses.

Surgeons, from cardiologists to cosmetologists, also learn and practice new techniques through the use of corpses.

Forensic experts can use donations to study how to catch the killer. They studied the process of decomposition to assist investigators to determine the time and cause of death.

If you like museums, you can donate them to these exhibits. Perhaps, the use of the corpse in the most famous museum is the Body Worlds exhibition in New York City, USA.

An innovative product by surgeon Gunther von Hagens, each exhibit has undergone a process of asphalt, in which each individual cell is preserved in silicone. The internal organs, tissues, and body systems are all visible because all of the 25 entire bodies displayed, are removed from the skin.

The corpses of those who die for incurable diseases can provide invaluable research opportunities for science, potentially saving the lives of countless people with the same disease in the future.

Studies of donations have led to many advances in the prevention and treatment of many diseases, not just limited to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease or many different cancers. Donors can also contribute to research on chronic diseases, such as arthritis, osteoporosis or scoliosis.

Automakers trying to improve their product safety often use mannequins to simulate the impact of traffic collisions . They also used the donor body to test the usefulness of the new features fitted to the vehicle, because the data was more complete and reliable than the mannequin test and simulation software.

According to industry insiders, autopsy can provide details on how a collision can cause internal organs and soft tissues, due to the autopsy after the collision reveals the extent of the injury. injured from that incident. Car companies are not willing to admit or participate directly in the use of product testing. Instead, they often sponsor universities or research organizations to conduct testing and acquisition, apply the following results.

During the development of Orion spacecraft carrying people into space, contractors of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) also used three corpses of people to test out travel patterns and seats. and ship landing systems.

The soldiers on duty may face a variety of life-threatening dangers. Military studies using donations can help improve and secure their equipment, such as armor.

However, the use of corpses for military research led to controversy. For example, in 2003, Tulane University Medical School (USA) discovered that seven corpses they provided to the US Army were used in mine tests to check the protective shoes of soldiers. . Because of this incident, Tulane University stopped having a relationship with an anatomy service company afterwards.