End of Life Options

End of Life Options

End of Life Options

Choose the option that’s best for you.

Traditional Casket Burial / Cremation

Transplant Donation

Whole Body Donation

Traditional Burial / Cremation

• This option is for those wishing for their entire body to remain intact and be buried in a coffin or cremated and placed in an urn.

• These are the most traditional methods but are not required in any State.

• Burial is the most expensive option, while cremation is still costly but is much less expensive than burial.

• Burial/cremation is time sensitive and usually occurs within a few weeks after someone has passed. Sometimes it can be difficult to plan a large or logistically difficult ceremony.

When You Choose Burial/Cremation

• Funeral homes have been the primary destination for all of us since the 19 th century. The influx of war dead created the need for a funeral establishment. Before that, it was up to the family to care for their dead and bury them. • In modern times, the funeral home can play vital role in a dignified send- off for our loved ones. They can also ensure the proper stewardship of all dead bodies for those that don’t have anyone to mourn them. • Embalming, viewing, plot, service and administrative fees all add up though. • The cost of an average full service funeral is over $10,000 with the average casket cost at approximately $2,000. • The costs of funerals have skyrocketed in the last 20 years. So much so that many started to move toward the less expensive option of cremation.

Traditional Burial

When You Choose Burial/Cremation

• A funeral home that transports the body from the place of death may or may not have it’s own crematory. In either case the option of cremation is required by law to be offered. • The cremation is a simple process of placing the body in container and then in a retort (cremation oven) and heating the retort to about 1600 degrees. • The body is then burned until only bones and ash are left. • The cremains (as they are called) are then pulverized in a steel blender until all bone fragments are ash up to the size of a pea (ashes). • The ashes are then placed in a box or urn and remitted back to the family. • Cremation cost range from $800 up to $3,000. • Anyone that chooses cremation for themselves can also look to whole body donation as an option because cremation is the end result of that process as well.

Traditional Cremation

Transplant Donation

• Transplant donation involves the surgical removal of transplantable tissues from your body in under 24 hours from death.

The Gift of Life

• This should not be confused with Organ Donation, as that occurs after brain death but not before the heart stops beating and can only occur in a hospital setting.

• Transplant should TAKE PRIORITY due to its life-saving / life-enhancing nature.

• You can still do traditional funeral/cremation after transplant donation. In many instances you can still do whole body donation as well.

• Check with your local whole body donation provider to see if they will accept you after transplant donation.

Whole Body Donation

• Whole body donation is a viable option to traditional death care and is a way of giving to thousands of others who can experience better medical outcomes because of the gift. • Because cremation is an intrinsic part of the body donation process, many people that are inclined to be cremated are often whole body donors as well. • Body donation can be divided into two separate parts: • Disease Research • This is a time sensitive process where all tissues must be recovered within 24 hours of death and pre- registration is critical • Medical Education • This is not time sensitive and donors may be accepted even weeks out from death (depending on body condition).

The Gift of Hope

Whole Body Donation

• Most body donation programs are only set up to facilitate medical education. This is the surgical removal of limbs to be sent to surgical education events to train doctors or a new device or improve a doctor’s existing surgical skills. • Currently, 95% of all donors are only used for medical education. Ask your provider how much they recover for disease research if it is important to you.

• If disease research is important to you then focus on those programs that offer it as a primary service to donors.

• Programs that are heavily involved in disease research require a more lengthy registration process in advance of death (with the donor) instead of after death (with the donor’s next of kin).

Whole Body Donation

• Medical School Programs are another way to donate for anatomical study for medical students.

Anatomic Dissection

• This is often important for those that wish to give back to a university to be used to train future doctors.

• Donor remains will often be held for up to two years before they can be returned as cremated remains.

• There are often costs associated with these programs due to the lack of funding for body removal services to the university.

• The use of the donor will be strictly limed to anatomical study and possibly plastination (indefinite display).

When You Choose Body Donation

• All donor programs will require you to register with them before they can accept your donation. • Some will “pre - qualify” you, but that is not a guarantee that you will be accepted at time of death. • The documents needed forregistration are: • DonorInformation Record • Donation Authorization Document • Cremation Authorization Document • Donor Risk Assessment (Medical/Social History Questionnaire. • State Dept. of Vitals Death Certificate Form • Medical Records Release Form. • Once registration is complete, you will receive copies of your consent documents and a registration card. Keep that card with you or in a conspicuous place. • Finally, tell your friends and family of your decision to donation in the event that you pass suddenly.

Registration

When You Choose Body Donation

• All donor programs must be notified of your death so they can arrange to quickly transport you to their facility.

Once Death Occurs

• They must be able to cool the body down as soon as possible.

• The body can go to a funeral home first if needed.

• Some programs will limit their service area simply to make sure that all donors will arrive within acceptable time limits.

• Most donor programs will cover all costs associated with the

transportation from the place of death, most or all funeral home fees, death certificate processing fees, the cremation costs and return of cremated remains in a dignified urn/container.

When You Choose Body Donation

• Once you arrive, a physical assessment of the body will be performed to assess potential disease transmission and evaluate what can be used for donation.

Donation Process

• They will draw blood to test for Hepatitis B, C and HIV.

• Once cleared, all tissues that will be used for medical education or disease research are removed, wrapped, tagged, inventoried and stored for further use. • Tissues not used for donation will be sent to cremation and the ashes will be sent to the next of kin. • Whatever is used will be disposed of after final use by cremation or incineration (as per state or country law). Those ashes will never be retuned to the next of kin.

Decide What is Right For You

• Spend some time thinking about what is right for you and your family.

• Determine which provider that youwish to work with.

• Investigate the companyand know who youare working with.

Complete all needed paperwork in advance.

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• Tell your family and friends about your decision. Put it in writing as well.

• When the time comes, make sure those who are caring for you know what to do in the even of your death.

• Follow up with your provider every now and then to make sure they are still reputable and still offering their services.

www.brightbioservices.com 602-858-7799 8550N90 th St., Suite 60 Peoria, AZ. 85345