Donating your body to science is different from donating organs for transplant. Being an organ donor involves marking your driver’s license and letting your family know that you want your organs donated in the event that you wind up brain-dead and on a respirator (which keeps the organs viable for a few days pending the transplant). Please do this. Eighty-three thousand people are waiting for organs, and sixteen die every day.
To donate your body to a medical school or university for research, you’ll need to contact the facility. The Anatomy Board of the University of Florida Web site has a state-by-state list of universities with Willed Body Programs and their phone numbers. Go to www.med.ufl.edu/anatbd/usprograms.html. If this list is no longer in existence, try a Web search for “willed body program” and the name of your state. Contact the institution you’d like to donate yourself to and request a willed body donor form and information packet. Be sure to talk to your family about your plans. For one thing, they’ll need to call the university to come get you when the time comes.
You can’t specify what you’re used for; you go where there’s a need. The majority of willed bodies wind up in the anatomy department. Almost none end up in the English department. Medical conferences where surgeons practice new techniques are another common venue. If there’s something you’d rather not be used for, make this clear on your donor form or in an attached note. Have fun!