Essay 75 (5-28-05)

THE WILLED BODY PROGRAM

Back in 1985 I willed my body to the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. I have occasionally mentioned this in my writings through the years – including a reference to it in my now published autobiography. It elicits questions from those who might be interested in doing likewise.

Only recently one of my e-mail subscribers referred to it, and suggested that I do an essay on the subject. I am complying to that request, but you are to be advised that my "willed body" decision is related to my ideas about funerals and death itself. These are my opinions, and I am not interested in imposing them upon others. Nor am I interested in persuading others to do as I have done – even though the medical school tells me they can always use more donors.

This is not for everyone. It is not for those who want the body of their loved one present at the funeral home and/or at the funeral for viewing. It is not for those who want a grave to visit for years to come, where the body of the loved one is interred. But one can donate his body and still have a grave. While a willed body is always cremated, the medical school will, upon request, return the ashes, which can be interred in a grave.

Ouida, who also willed her body, and I did not opt for our ashes to be returned. They will anonymously be placed in a garden on the campus of the medical school. In life we can give flowers, in death we can nurture them. That is better than encumbering the ground, and far more sanitary. In India I watched from a distance as a family cremated the remains of a loved one by a river side, which took considerable preparation, skill, and time. They afterwards bore the ashes by boat into the river, sprinkling the ashes along the way. I admired the wisdom of it all – no casket, no grave, no cemetery to take precious space. And no risk of a tsunami or flood waters washing up bodies and caskets and scattering them afar. If we assisted nature by speeding up the dissolution of the body at the time of death, we would serve ourselves and future generations far better. And we could grow crops or build schools where cemeteries now lay waste mother earth. We have only so much land. Let’s use it for life, not death!

As I see it, the presence of a body at a funeral compromises what we are supposed to believe as Christians. If we believe, "When we are absent from the body, we are present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8) , then we believe that the deceased is no longer in the body. She is now with the Lord. Then why have her dead body there, the "house" that she has discarded? It may be a time for grief, but it is also a time for celebration – a time to look to life, not death.

And yet the Bible refers to those "who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13), and so a funeral may be a sad farewell rather than a home going celebration – even though only God can make that judgment. But the point is the same – the deceased is no longer in the body. And does not our Lord make it clear in Luke 20:38 that they nonetheless continue to exist, the righteous and unrighteous alike, "for all live unto him." This gives "absent from the body" theological significance. All who die live on – "live unto him" – in the hands of God, for good or ill.

When the time comes to be "absent from planet earth" -- as Alexander Campbell liked to put it -- we should make it as painless for our loved ones as possible. I tell Ouida that she only needs to make two phone calls, or have someone else to make them. First, to the coroner, who after verifying the death, will have her call a mortician. As a matter of law, even if the body is to be cremated and there is to be no funeral, an undertaker has to be involved for certification purposes – except when the body is willed to a recognized medical facility. The second call is, therefore, to the medical school, which is on 24-hour standby. They will come for the body, and that’s the end of it. No casket to buy, no funeral to pay for, no bargaining for a grave site. Then if one’s loved ones want to have a memorial service – a home going celebration at a convenient time -- well and good.

Now you have my "no hassle" way to leave planet earth. And the money saved can help pay for the grandchildren’s education. But even money in the bank is better than money in the ground!

As for some questions that are sometimes asked: Does the medical school charge for doing this? No. Might they reject a body? Yes, if it is overly obese, badly burned or mutilated, or if death was caused by suicide, homicide, drowning, auto accident, or a contagious disease. Neither can they use a body that has been embalmed, or had organs removed for transplantation, or if the person suffered from senile dementia. Or if there is excessive length of time before they are called.

Giving one’s organs for transplantation is a different program. One cannot do both. The medical school makes extensive use of the entire body, including the organs. They then cremate the remains. In transplantation the organs are removed, and the body is then returned to the family for burial. But organs are not used for transplantation from one whose age exceeds threescore and ten. Age is not a factor when a body is willed to a medical school.

While these regulations will differ in some details from state to state, they are generally the same. If you are interested, you should contact your nearest medical school. They usually have a brochure describing the willed-body program.

The theology in all this is in seeing the body as a gift of God, to be used to his glory, in death as well as in life. It is gratifying to me to realize that after my body has been a blessing to me in life, it might be a blessing to others in death. The study of anatomy is crucial to all areas of modern medicine, especially surgery, making cadavers essential to medical education. If my body is used to better inform a surgeon to save a single life, it will be worth any sacrifice involved.

An unexpected dimension to all this is the greater reason I have for caring for my body. Since it is going to be used once I leave it, I am all the more careful about the way I treat it. I like to think that the injunction to "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:20) might extend even unto death itself.

Personal Notes

I am looking forward to speaking this Wednesday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Skillman Church of Christ in Dallas on our heritage in Churches of Christ. This is preparatory to a unity conference to be held the following Sunday at 5 p.m. at the same church. Leaders from Disciples of Christ, Christian Churches, and Churches of Christ will participate. If you live in the area, it would be great having you with us.

On June 15 I will take part in an Anniversary 2005 celebration with The Worship Place -- a predominately African-American church with a Churches of Christ background -- in Jacksonville, Florida. My subject will be "Our Common Ground Is In An Uncommon Person."

I am pleased to make this final report on our daughter Phoebe. She was dismissed from the hospital well, except for a few days in a rehabilitation center. Ouida and I just visited her, and she was tired, having had three sessions of physical therapy today. She will soon be back home to what I am calling "A New Beginning," after literally being at death’s door. She’s even telling me her "near death" experience – bright lights, "someone" talking with her about whether she stays or goes, and at the same time aware of a team of doctors and nurses around her, and she at last tells "someone" she wants to stay. I listen to it all, wondering. We do know that for a few seconds her heart stopped. I now have significant new resources to draw upon in persuading her to begin taking the issues of life more seriously and more responsibly. We thank you for being with us in this. It now looks as if she will bury me instead of the other way around, which is the way it should be. Except that you now know that I will not be buried!

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