What is Body/Organ/Tissue Donation?

• A. When arrangements have been made to donate the whole body or organs or tissue, death occurs, and remains are buried at no cost.
• B. When arrangements have been made to donate to a museum, and remains are never returned.
• C. When arrangements have been made to donate the whole body or organs or tissue, any remains are cremated by the medical facility and may be returned to the next-of-kin or a designated funeral director at no cost.
• D. When arrangements are made to donate bones only for research.

Answer: (C)

Body/organ/tissue donation refers to giving consent to use a whole body or specific parts (organs or tissues) for medical education, research, or transplantation. A key aspect of many donation programs is how remains are handled after the donation is arranged. The standard approach is that the medical facility or program carries out cremation of any remains and then returns the cremated remains to the next of kin or to a designated funeral director, at no cost to the family. This arrangement respects the donor’s intent while providing a predictable and compassionate disposition of the remains and typically involves no expense for the family.

This aligns with the idea that donation programs manage the process and ensure remains are treated with care and, when possible, returned to loved ones. The other options either describe a scenario that isn’t typical for body/organ/tissue donation (such as a guaranteed burial at no cost after donation, or remains never being returned) or shrink the concept to a narrow case (bones only).