With reference to the letters (19 October) on what people have done with loved ones’ ashes, there is another way to leave a lasting legacy, which does not seem to be widely mentioned beyond the medical professions. If you live within 50 miles of a teaching hospital, you may donate your body for medical training and research. If parts of your body can be used, what is left can be cremated and returned as a casket of ashes, and it does not preclude a funeral or memorial ceremony.
There are various limitations, as with organ donation, depending on time limits and diseases prior to death, but the signing up process is sensitive and straightforward, and, similarly to organ donation, you can carry a card and have this recorded on your medical notes. If your loved ones are comfortable with this, it will give them sustenance to know that many others may in future benefit.
Sylvia Chainey
Riding Mill, Northumberland
