BodyWorld
A Donation
In 2006 there was a wonderful exhibit at The Science and Industry Museum called Bodyworlds. There were human bodies and animals that had been processed, plastinated, so that much of the organic material of the body was removed and replaced with silicone or epoxy.
On the ride home, Sarah and I told each other that we had signed up for more information about donating our bodies.
A couple of weeks later we got emails saying that there would be a meeting of people who were thinking of being body donors. Sarah didn’t go.
At the meeting, we got to meet Dr. Gunther von Hagens and the people who were part of this organization. Then they asked us how many of us would actually be willing to donate our bodies. My hand went up and a handful of other people did as well. After they dismissed the others, we were invited to go to Germany to see the Bodyworlds labs. I asked if Sarah could go too. They weren’t too excited about adding her, but they said okay. But Sarah didn’t go.
About 10 of us went to Heidelberg, Germany for about a week to see the labs. We also saw the taping of a television show that showed autopsies. I got along well with the donors on the tour and with the plastination people. It was a good experience.
We got to see as much of the plastication process as we were interested in.
I was very interested.
We got to do touristy things on Heidelberg and around Heidelberg.
After the group returned, a few of us kept friendships going, and we had get togethers every once in a while. But as with most things in life, the friendships faded.
A couple years later I got invited to another trip to Heidelberg. Gunther had plans to develop another lab in Kyrgyzstan. I got to have dinner with the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan and Miss Kyrgyzstan.
Then because of a coincidence, I was going to be in San Francisco at the same time that a sloppy Chinese competitor of Bodyworld was going to have a show. ABC News contacted me and I was interviewed by a famous reporter and got to be on the national news.
Overall, my experience with the company has been extraordinary, extraordinarily wonderful, extraordinarily pleasant and delightful.
Maybe this is one of those places where my perspective on this, and maybe the whole concept of death is not like other people. I understand, or can understand, the religious attitudes of how a body is treated after death. A person has to be buried in such a way or processed in such a way or burned or whatever the rituals and traditions are. But I don’t share those rituals and traditions.
I think it’s a noble thing to leave your body for students to learn from and explore. And with Bodyworlds, a good portion of their processed bodies go to academic institutions, medical schools, etc. The amount of information, and inspiration that can come from seeing these shows is immeasurable. To be able to see actual human bodies and how various organs, body parts, and features of anatomy all fit together and work together is something few of us ever get to experience. I feel privileged that my body will be used in this way to educate.
More recently, Dr. Gunther has died from Parkinson's. And they have changed the donation program in North America.
I made friends with my fellow body donors, and I wish we had kept in contact. This is an example of a place, and with a group of people, where I had a feeling of belonging.
See you someday at the museum.