Want to donate my body to medical school, but they won't take if autopsied or after 24 hours

[ready.to.go]

I've found some medical schools that have anatomical donation programs, but the body cannot be autopsied or be dead for longer than 24 hours. I was hoping to leave a note with the hotline for the school, so my body can reach there within 24 hours. What are the chances that responding officers will respect that and not autopsy? Is there any way to help that chance?

 

[Well-Edited Chaos]

No autopsy? Highly unlikely. If it's an unexpected death (even if it looks like a suicide), there will probably be some investigation, just to ensure that it really is a suicide and not someone trying to conceal a murder.

 

[_smile_]

It depends where you're located. And if the US, it depends on each state. Some states will require an investigation/autopsy when suicide is suspected and other states do not.

 

[Well-Edited Chaos]

It depends where you're located. And if the US, it depends on each state. Some states will require an investigation/autopsy when suicide is suspected and other states do not.

Very true - jurisdiction is VERY important for everything we discuss here.

 

[ready.to.go]

I'm in California in the US, if that helps

 

[Hercules]

The police will order an autopsy as part of their investigation. The corner does an autopsy for any unexpected or suspicious death. They need to determine the exact cause of death and make sure that no one killed you.

The following lists in what situations the corner is required to perform an autopsy under California law.

Top of Page[/right
Investigations/Autopsies
What types of deaths are required to be investigated?
It shall be the duty of the coroner to inquire into and determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of all violent, sudden, or unusual deaths; unattended deaths; deaths where the deceased has not been attended by either a physician or a registered nurse, who is a member of a hospice care interdisciplinary team . . . in the 20 days before death; deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion; known or suspected homicide, suicide, or accidental poisoning; deaths known or suspected as resulting in whole or in part from or related to accident or injury either old or recent; deaths due to drowning, fire, hanging, gunshot, stabbing, cutting, exposure, starvation, acute alcoholism, drug addiction, strangulation, aspiration, or where the suspected cause of death is sudden infant death syndrome; death in whole or in part occasioned by criminal means; deaths associated with a known or alleged rape or crime against nature; deaths in prison or while under sentence; deaths known or suspected as due to contagious disease and constituting a public hazard; deaths from occupational diseases or occupational hazards; deaths of patients in state mental hospitals serving the mentally disabled and operated by the State Department of State Hospitals; deaths of patients in state hospitals serving the developmentally disabled and operated by the State Department of Developmental Services; deaths under such circumstances as to afford a reasonable ground to suspect that the death was caused by the criminal act of another; and any deaths reported by physicians or other persons having knowledge of death for inquiry by coroner. . . The coroner shall have discretion to determine the extent of inquiry to be made into any death occurring under natural circumstances and falling within the provisions of this section . . . For the purpose of inquiry, the coroner shall have the right to exhume the body of a deceased person when necessary to discharge the responsibilities set forth in this section. Cal. Gov't Code​

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Unfortunately, I don't see any way around an autopsy for suicide, at least a toxicology panel. They need to make sure you weren't murdered.

 

[Euthanza]

This is another important humanitarian reason why assisted suicide and euthanasia should be legal. Sorry I can't help a word to say for current legal systems, we are not suicide bomber or attacker, but we get worse treatment.

"Five to six thousand people die every year waiting for organs, but nobody cares." Jack Kevorkian