They say animals are valuable in death - as in their meat, bones, skin, etc. are all very valuable. It is considered respectful to use them for all they're worth, so that nothing is wasted. Why is it not the same for humans? Why don't we use our bodies for everything they're worth after we're dead. So many people don't put "organ donor" on their driver's licenses, which I highly recommend. So many people's bodies just go into the ground when they're dead, even though their organs could save another person's life.
I recently watched an episode of CSI in which people who were dying and badly needed organ transplants that didn't seem to be coming to them decided to buy organs on the black market, instead of waiting to die. They, of course, got into huge trouble with the law for buying organs on the black market, and granted, it's not a good idea to buy on the black market. You have no idea where those organs came from. They could've come from people who were alive when the organs were taken from them. Those people could've been murdered. The organs could easily not be functioning, like maybe they've gone bad. Or maybe they came from a person with HIV. You never know. However, this episode brought up a really great point. There was a little boy who was going to die without a new kidney, and he was not at the top of the donation list, so he probably would've died without getting a kidney off the black market. Should people have to resort to the black market to get what they need in order to live?
I'd say an easy solution would be for people to become organ donors. Everyone should put "organ donor" on their driver's licenses. However, it's not that simple. So should people's bodies be owned by the state after they die, so that we can use everything from their bodies that we can in order to save other people's lives? This would be valiant, although it would definitely desecrate people's bodies in death, when in life, they possibly didn't want such things to happen to their bodies. However, bodies are bodies. And I think people should be willing to let whatever happen to their bodies in order to help other people. At the same time, is this the choice of the state? Should they be allowed to use our bodies after we die? Afterall, they are just bodies. Once we're dead, WE are gone, only our body is left behind.
One other thing that's interesting: During the Holocaust, after Hitler and his crew killed the Jews (among other groups of people,) they used their bodies for everything they could. They used their fat to make soap, and they used their hair to make cloth. Now, obviously, that's insanity. But hey, that's using the body for everything it's worth, for sure! What if our society found this to be totally normal...and maybe even a good use of the human body? There are and have been in the past all kinds of cultures that do this sort of thing. Who knows if our culture would ever accept something like this. All I know is, I don't want to wash my body with someone's else's corpse. But hey, it's certainly a good use of resources!
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, MAKE SURE TO PUT "ORGAN DONOR" ON YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE!!! Be that vital organ that that 5-year-old kid needs in order to survive. Afterall, what do you need with your body after you die?
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