I’ve never given a single serious thought to shopping for a cemetery plot. It’s not that I’m in denial about my eventual demise. It’s just that I’m cheap. The price tag for land plus embalming plus casket plus headstone would take a big chunk out of my kids’ not-so-big inheritance.
I tell my family: Cremate me, sprinkle my ashes at the dog park, and throw a goodbye party featuring Lone Star beer and Two-Buck Chuck.
Rather, those were my instructions, until a recent brainstorm: Hey, why not just donate my body to science— saving money and maybe even lives?
I pitched the idea to my husband. Easy sell.
Turns out that neither of us is much bothered by the notion of youthful students scrutinizing our not so “beach-ready bods” from head to toe. Not that we care to dwell on any of the previously mentioned scenarios.
As a UCI alum, I instantly decided on the university’s Willed Body Program. Surely my endowment makes up for years of guiltily avoiding those fundraising calls.
I emailed for application forms, and we soon received a thick packet of information. It’s a simple procedure. You just sign on a few dotted lines and mail, email or fax the paperwork to UCI.
You can change your mind at any time, but your survivors cannot do so for you. However, a legally responsible person can gift your body at the time of death.
After your passing, a family member or friend calls a 24-hour hotline. And UCI takes it from there.
Your remains will be picked up within 200 miles of campus at no charge. At that point, your loved ones completely step out of the process. All that’s left for them to do is celebrate your life.
Your body could be put to purposeful use in several ways: Future doctors advancing their education; researchers exploring potential treatments; or surgeons practicing new procedures and medical devices.
In most cases, once your body has served its mission it will be cremated and your ashes scattered at sea.
Family members can choose to make a $500 donation to the School of Medicine in return for an engraved brick, which will be installed in a memorial garden on campus.
Every two years, the UCI Willed Body Program invites families to a “ceremony of thanks” honoring its most recent donors.
“We are so grateful for our donors,” said Juana Contreras Rivera, operations specialist for the UCI Willed Body Program. “Donors are essential to our medical research and training.”
Oh, did I mention the cost savings? It’s the proverbial win-win.
For more information, go to medschool. uci.edu/community/willedbody- program