# Cheap body disposal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355 "2013-01-16T03:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/21 "2013-01-16T23:24:16Z")
We were told as kids in civics class or some such that some states required embalming. Is this true? Do the donation to science programs have some way to circumvent these costs? ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/22 "2013-01-17T12:05:43Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > We were told as kids in civics class or some such that some states required embalming. Is this true? Do the donation to science programs have some way to circumvent these costs? I’m pretty sure Ohio does not. When my mom died, she was going to be cremated, but because my siblings lived some distance away and wanted a viewing, she was embalmed. If we hadn’t wanted a viewing, she could have gone straight to the furnace without it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/23 "2013-01-17T12:13:07Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > [BioGIft](http://www.biogift.org/02_abcs.html). Donating your body to science incurs no cost for you or your family. > [@dropzone](#): > > Full-body donation. It’s free, your survivors don’t have to go to any trouble, and you are doing some good for Humanity. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I plan to donate whatever is left of me. My family knows this, but I should probably do the paperwork now. I like the idea of being useful after I’m dead. > [@panache45](#): > > Is it possible to be an organ donor, then leave the rest for science? > [@freckafree](#): > > Thirding body donation. > [@carlotta](#): > > I want to donate my body to science, mostly for the reason of being cheap. Plus it is good for the economy, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for the body brokers. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/24 "2013-01-17T16:06:55Z")
If I understand the facts correctly, a friend of mine had a FIL who bought the farm a few years back. He and wife, and all concerned were totally without money. The state cremated the body for free. (Coroners office? Medical Examiner? Health Department? dunno.) ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/25 "2013-01-17T18:26:20Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > We were told as kids in civics class or some such that some states required embalming. Is this true? Do the donation to science programs have some way to circumvent these costs? A quick Google search turns up a page full of sites saying that it’s generally not required. Sounds like the sort of thing less-ethical funeral directors would try to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/26 "2013-01-17T18:44:30Z")
Am I the only one who clicked on this thread expecting a “Need answer fast” in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/27 "2013-01-17T19:08:13Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > If I understand the facts correctly, a friend of mine had a FIL who bought the farm a few years back. He and wife, and all concerned were totally without money. The state cremated the body for free. (Coroners office? Medical Examiner? Health Department? dunno.) Yup, the place I worked at occasionally did cremations for the applicable local authority. It was often homeless people with no relatives that anyone could find, or people who genuinely couldn’t pay a cent. An econo-coffin (aka large cardboard box) and cremation was inexpensive for the state, and family/close friends were given the opportunity to watch and have a bit of a ceremony if they wished. Ashes were scattered in the ocean if no-one claimed them. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/28 "2013-01-17T22:22:08Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > We were told as kids in civics class or some such that some states required embalming. Is this true? Do the donation to science programs have some way to circumvent these costs? Embalming is typically ONLY required if the body is going to be shipped to another State. I’m sure this is not the case for donations to science. If there is a period of time from the actual death until the funeral, and the family wishes a viewing, then embalming may be necessary. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/29 "2013-01-18T00:59:14Z")
Grinding up an composting and them maybe use to fetilize a forest would be great and cheap. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/30 "2013-01-18T01:33:58Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Plus it is good for the economy, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for the body brokers. Hey! My wife used to work for one of those! FTR, she is still pissed at how much they make off the leftovers of others, but she’d probably be less pissed if they had paid her better. Ghouls shouldn’t be cheapskates. Folks dislike them enough already. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/31 "2013-01-18T02:20:41Z")
I think if you’re dead, you don’t really care about the body brokers. Full body donation, totally free. And they send you a lovely card. /snark ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355/32 "2013-01-18T03:04:50Z")
Cecil wrote a bit on donating your body to science. Might be worth a look. > **[How do you donate your body to science?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343774/how-do-you-donate-your-body-to-science)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-body-disposal/647355.md?page=1)