Rest In Peace

Does the family get to make funeral arrangements when the deceases organs are donated?

After the organs have been removed can the family have the body back for funeral arrangements. Or does the hospital keep the body? Will the body be moved from place to place? What actually happens to the deceased body? I'm thinking about being a donor but I want to be buried not floating around in some morgue or classroom for experiments.

Public Comments

1. yes, the body is turned over to the funeral home of the family's choosing after the organs are harvested and arrangements proceed from there the same as any other death.
2. Donation of organs is different from donation of a whole body. Yes, the family absolutely does get the body back for funeral arrangements. The donor may be kept at the hospital on life support until the donation can be completed for some organs like lungs and the heart, as those organs must be kept perfused with blood until they are removed. Some other organs and tissues like corneas and long bones can be removed shortly after death without the necessity for life support. It is possible that a person on life support might be moved from one hospital to another if the hospital where they died doesn't have the capability to support them in the interim, but that would be relatively rare and wouldn't happen without the family's consent. The deceased's body is then transferred to the morgue of the hospital and can be picked up by whatever appropriate person the family designates (funeral director, mortuary worker, etc.). I think being an organ donor is a wonderful gift. You can also specify which organs you would like to donate and should make close relatives aware of your wishes if you decide you would like to be a donor. Regardless of your wishes, the final permission has to be given by the next-of-kin.
3. no body wants the body! It is then sent to the funeral home and everything goes on as if the donations hadn't been made.and 20yrs ago it cost $1500. for my neighbor to 'donate' her body to UCLA medical.
4. You're confusing organ donation with body donation.