Educational body donation rises in light of economy - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

MADISON (WAOW)--According to the National Association of Funeral Directors, the average funeral costs upwards of $6,000 dollars.

It's not a topic many of us like to consider, but the financial burden of a traditional funeral can be overwhelming. That's why in this down economy, many people are looking for ways to scale back costs.

One of those options is educational body donation. Dr. Edward Bersu runs the program at UW Madison. "These people will then write to us or call us and send an email and request what we call the body donor registration forms," he said.

Requests for forms are up in the past few years. Body donation is free but there are some restrictions. Bersu said a number of bodies are rejected due to disease or morbid obesity. For that reason, you should always have a back-up plan.

"Yes, there are people who are going to do this out of economic conditions and that's fine, but a large number of them it is because of altruistic reasons," said Bersu.

A desire to give back, and make a difference even in death; making donation more of a gift, than the result of financial strain.

 Online Reporter: Bonnie Shelton