Cancer Diary: Beyond Organ Transplants - After Death Contributions to the Welfare of Others, A True Parting Gift
What some people leave behind when they die can help so many others -- either making medical care possible for them or making medical care better for them.
In the first category is a young mother (age 38) who died of ovarian cancer. Her name was Casey Ryan MacIntyre, and her dying wish was to wipe out the medical debts of other people. Through a memorial page on the RIP Medica Debt page, she, with the help of her survivors, has already wiped out over 100 million dollars in debt of those who cannot afford medical care. (Donations are still being solicited -- until December, it appears -- if you would like to donate.) Newsweek tells the story HERE.
In the second category are those who donate organs. For the most part, the process for doing that is easy to follow; hospitals have staff members who follow up on those who have indicated they wish to donate (e.g., on their driver licenses) or through those they leave behind and will often contact the latter whether or not there a wish has been left for donation. What many do not know about is that it is possible and easy to donate whole bodies. This is what Carl Leaver, in the memory of whom Cancer Diary was established, did. Donated bodies are used for education, for training new doctors (really important and in much need), and for research. It is not as easy a process to learn about as is organ transplant donations, but there are organizations that handle this. Generally, the person who is dying fills out the paperwork ahead of death -- you can get on the registry now and make it easier for your survivors later, but in the case of Carl, he was unable to fill out the paperwork, and everything was handled over the phone with his verbal consent. (There are some restrictions: the deceased must be located at the time of death within transport range of the receiving organization, such as no more than two hours away; Carl just squeaked by, living in rural San Juan Bautista, with San Francisco 90 minutes away. This is because the body must reach a location where it can be preserved before it starts to decay, which is sooner than I had thought. Another restriction is cause of death: death from COVID or other communicable disease will render the body unusable. Weight is also a problem. Carl again squeaked by: at 250 pounds, he was at the very limit of weight. That is because generally there are only a couple of people to pick up and transport the body.) For more information, contact Science Care (they were SO respectful with us); there are others. Here is a good explanation, with caveats: How To Donate Your Body to Science | What Is Whole-Body Donation? (popularmechanics.com).
Can you participate in both categories? Sure! Double-gifting. (You cannot however donate organs and whole body -- which is why I have listed them as one category.)
Something to think about, anyway.
For other Cancer Diary posts, click HERE.
Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page, Carl's Cancer Compendium, as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts: Cancer Diary.
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