Organ and Tissue
Everyone can and should consider being an organ donor by indicating that on their driver’s license. Thousands of lives could be saved if more organs were available. The Organ and Tissue Sharing Network deals with the immediate removal of usable tissue and organs from a deceased body. Old age is not necessarily a barrier to organ donation. A kidney transplant from a deceased 79-year-old can be just as effective as one from a person 30 years younger.
Countless lives can be saved through tissue donation that is used in medical research, and most people can be tissue donors regardless of age or condition at death.
For more on the Sharing Network: www.njsharingnetwork.org/get-the-facts
Body Donation
In-depth study of the human body is an essential part of medical education. The physicians-in-training hold the life process in reverence and respect. In New Jersey, the only medical school receiving bodies is Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Anatomical Association in New Brunswick. The cost to donate a body is about $800, which covers transportation from anywhere in the state to the school.
The Medical School may keep and use the body for as long as two years. The Anatomical Association will cremate the body at the completion of studies and return the ashes to the family if they wish.
It is necessary to register ahead of time with The Association if you wish to donate your body and also make back-up plans in case the body is refused. The Association reserves the right to turn away a body because of certain deceases or simply lack of need.
For more information call: 1- 800 443 8211 or go to our links section