going straight to science. It's not going in a casket. It's not going to a crematorium. I'm going to donate it
right to a medical school.
Why? - My name is Peggy Reilly. I'm 65 years old. - This is my mother. And the story starts with her.
She traveled all around the world, raised three awesome kids,
and is generally amazing. But then something happened. - I had a stroke on March 23rd, 2012. - [Kevin Reilly] The stroke
was caused by a blood vessel bursting in her brain.
It changed everything. - I miss working properly, taking care of my husband and my children. I miss that. And driving, and ...
Taking care of the dogs,
and cleaning the house. And walking. I miss all that. - A few years after the stroke, she told me she wanted to
donate her body to science.
And my reaction was, "Why?" - Because its expensive to have a funeral. But I'd like them to learn from my body, so that they can use everything
from my whole entire body, and the bones and everything. - Funerals are expensive. According to the National
Funeral Directors Association the median price is about $7,300.
And a cremation is only about
a thousand dollars cheaper. This is a funeral pricing checklist from the Federal Trade Commission. Basic service for the
funeral director and staff, pickup of body, embalming,
other preparation of body, casket, funeral memorial
service, graveside service, including staff and equipment, hearse. This is ridiculous.
I don't want to put my
loved ones through that. So this got me thinking that, like my mom, I should use what I have to
help people once I'm dead. So I went to find out
how I can donate my body. This is Jo Wiederhorn.
She's the President and CEO. Of the Associated Medical
Schools of New York. That's the group that makes sure body donation programs
in New York are legit. - So the process is really very easy.
First of all, when you decide that that's what you want to do, you should contact the medical school that you want to donate to. And I would say that you should
donate to a medical school. They are licensed; they go through a rigorous process to become licensed. - [Kevin] Medical schools
seem like an obvious choice, but there's a darker
reasoning behind this.
- Revealing new details about
a case of human body parts sold on the black market. - A private company was selling body parts from bodies that had been donated? - There's a whole cottage
industry of "body brokers". - Some U.S. Companies are making a fortune by selling human bodies that
were donated to science.
A Reuters investigation revealed that this often unregulated
business is worth millions and rarely guarantees that your body is going to be used for what you hope for. Really, if you want to
ensure that your body is going to go for educational purposes, because that's what
most people want to do. They want to be able to help train the next era of physicians. So, the best place to do
that is to a medical school.
Every single one of our, we have 16 medical schools in New York. Every single one of them
has a donor program. - [Kevin] Dr. Jeffrey
Laitman is the Director of Anatomy and Functional Morphology at the Icahn School of
Madison at Mount Sinai.
This is where my body will wind up. But I needed to know why these schools really wanted my body. - The laying on of
hands is a sacred trust, a very, very special thing to do. That process begins in the
first day of an anatomy class.
It's a very difficult
thing for a student to do. In our culture, we refer to the cadaver as one's first patient. - [Kevin] But with all the
advances in technology, from VR. To animatronics, why do they
need to use real bodies? - Everything up to this
point is very conceptual: PowerPoint slides, drawings in books.
And this is the first time you
see a tangible representation of humanity and how we're
going to treat them. - [Kevin] The students dissect cadavers in their first anatomy classes,
practicing on human bodies before they ever step into a surgery room. And even experienced doctors
continue to use cadavers. - Other things can be helpful.
And you can learn from
models and computer programs and all sorts of wonderful adjuncts. But the key of medicine as
long as you'll be treating real people is gonna be
learning from real people. - The body is not just a
box that has organs in it. Everything's not always in the same place.
Within the course we have oral exams in which the teaching
assistants will come around and ask us questions about all
of the different structures that we should have dissected
or learned the names of. And my first oral exam, I was so nervous. But I felt calmer than expected, and I realized at the end of the test that I had actually been
holding my cadaver's hand, which was somewhat horrifying
but strangely comforting. - [Kevin] And if you're
wondering what happens to the cadavers once
they're done with them ...
- And when the course is over, the remains are then
either cremated or buried, depending upon the wishes of the deceased. - Each year, many of the schools hold special ceremonies
honoring the donors. Here at the University of
Buffalo, friends and family were invited to join the
students and doctors. That's right, I get a
service, burial or cremation, and I'm helping to train doctors.
Cost? Zero. It's covered by the school. Now, to be clear, donating
your body to science is different from being an
organ donor on your license. With whole-body donation,
the organs are kept intact.
Students need all the parts
to learn about the whole body. So the only thing left to
do is mail out the form, because when I go, this
is going to science. If you want to find out more
about whole-body donation, call your local medical school. Or use this full list
of programs put together by the Anatomical Board
of the State of Florida.
(Bright music).
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