# The most awkward legacy - a diamond made from my body, before I die

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 22, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583 "2024-09-22T13:55:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583/1 "2024-09-22T13:55:49Z")

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Juat a random thought that played through my mind… I could get one of those ‘lifegem’ lab grown diamonds made from my body before I die - just save up my nail clippings and hair and beard trimmings, reduce them to charcoal and send that to the lab to get diamonds that were made from me, as the most awkward legacy gift for my kids. Ideally i would hand them over personally on my deathbed and croak the words ‘I made this for you from my toenails’.

Or I could have some of my blood drawn, dry it out and burn that to ashes and have an diamond that is ethical, whilst still technically being described as a ‘blood diamond’.

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**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583/2 "2024-09-22T14:03:22Z")

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My question is how big of a diamond could you make from the amount of carbon obtained from your entire body.? Let alone from blood, hair and nails.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583/3 "2024-09-22T14:11:20Z")

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The average human contains about 10kg of carbon I think, so thats the theoretical upper bound for diamonds made from a corpse, of course there will be losses in extraction and more losses in growing diamonds. It would have to be multiple small diamonds rather than one big one.

Trying to find numbers on lifetime production of hair and nails by weight - not sure on that.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-awkward-legacy-a-diamond-made-from-my-body-before-i-die/1007583/4 "2024-09-22T14:48:39Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> The average human contains about 10kg of carbon I think, so thats the theoretical upper bound for diamonds made from a corpse, of course there will be losses in extraction

I think extraction would be rather expensive also. That carbon is all bound up in organic compounds that would be difficult to separate into anything but CO2 initially. Extracting the carbon from CO2 is very energy expensive.

We did a thread on making a sword from the iron in blood. Not that much iron in your body at once, but you could save a pint a month through your lifetime and maybe that combined with what’s left in your body when you pass away a bit of iron or steel could be made out of it. Maybe even a setting for your diamond.