Cremation Alternative

As cremation is an alternative to ground burial, so do other alternatives to cremation exist. One of these is the donation of a body for scientific research. Some people will, quite naturally perhaps, recoil from this idea. However, anatomical gifts fill a great need in medical school programs.

Donation of a body is permitted, and not complicated, when rules are known and followed. Medical schools or state medical boards should be able to provide the necessary information. One of the regulations is that state agencies and medical schools may never purchase bodies. If a body has not deteriorated, medical science can make good use of it in educational programs, regardless of the age of the deceased.

It's always easier on the family if a person plans ahead and leaves instructions for whole body or organ donation. (Usually, a body needs to be intact to be accepted as a whole body donation.) The family may raise objections to the wishes of the deceased, but such are usually overridden, if the deceased's instructions are clear.

If a donated body is rejected for one of many reasons, the family must be prepared financially to handle cremation costs at some level. One of the least burdensome is to have ashes scattered in a formal garden or scattered at sea. If cremation had not been an option, burial of an intact body at sea is permitted by many religions, whether or not the individual had served in the military. One thing to keep in mind is that burial at sea or scattering of ashes at sea is not reversible. Therefore, the individual who is preplanning, or the family, will need to give serious thought to this option before embarking on it.