At age 54, I am registered as a whole body donor to a medical school. The donation is without restriction, but my hope is that my cadaver will be thoroughly dissected by first year medical students in gross anatomy.

When the dissection is completed, my leftovers will be incinerated with those of other men and women, to ultimately become commingled human ashes in a communal cemetary plot. As a secular humanist, I consider this an incredible honor — a disposition free of religiousity and superstition, in which you are useful to humanity.

Certainly, I encourage my fellow secular humanists to consider becoming whole body donors for medical schools, plastination exhibits, or recycled as transplant tissue.

Would you like to donate your body for a very unusual science project?
In a unique scientific project, leading academic scientists have been studying how the Ancient Egyptians mastered the process of mummification which has long been a mystery. This project is also the subject of a long running television documentary. They need a volunteer: someone with a terminal illness prepared to donate their body after their death. The Egyptians success at mummifying their dead is renowned through history but these scientists now think they have finally solved the secrets of the process. If they have, it is likely to have other significant benefits for modern medical science. The volunteer would be given a unique insight into both the science and the Egyptian history involved. Their body would be preserved – potentially for hundreds or even thousands of years.

If this interests you please contact Joanna on 0203 372 8521 or email Joanna@fulcrumtv.com. We appreciate that this is a delicate matter. By contacting this number there is no obligation to take part in the film. All calls will be treated with discretion.

which got me thinking that that’s what I want to do, if I die

There ain’t no ‘if’ about it, youngling.

An example: http://www.ur.umich.edu/0910/Sep21_09/18.php

The responses I get to this range from “Ewww, creepy,” to “Wow, cool!”… with nothing in between. People are very polarized about it. I actually had to change lawyers because my regular guy, who I’ve been going to for years, wanted nothing to do with it and wouldn’t witness the documents or work with me on putting it in my will.

My mom and dad seem okay with it though. Not sure if they have any private qualms, but they haven’t said anything to me about them if they do.

Bacopa: if you want to do it, do it. If nothing else it’s a great conversation starter.

I myself want to be in Body Worlds. Saw the exhibit a few years ago and nothing was more badass than “Horse and Rider”. If you saw it you would remember it forever.

http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/the_proper_reverence_due_those_who_have_gone_before/

However, I’ll note that the authors description of examining the bones of someone he never knew makes me rather like the idea of my bones being so examined sometime after my death.

I also would say to back off a bit, because unless you have a tragic love of skydiving, or unless you are suffering cancer, chances are good that your mother will die before you, so pushing her on the topic too much is kind of mean.