7 Things to Do With Your Ashes After Donating Your Body to Science

While registering to be a whole body donor is an amazing and altruistic choice, your decision doesn’t end there. Some people may not realize that, after your donation has been utilized, MedCure arranges for a cremation on behalf of your family. This gives body donors a wide variety of options for what they’d like to have done with their ashes afterward.

Although having your ashes placed in an urn is still a very popular option, more people are opting for out-of-the-box options for the final resting place for their ashes. Here are 7 creative things that you can do with your cremated remains after you’ve donate your body to science.

1. Shine as a Diamond

There are several companies around the world that can help you turn ashes into genuine treasure. Memorial diamonds can be created using a person’s carbon DNA, much in the same way that other artificial diamonds are created. After the diamond is created, many people will choose to have it set into a piece of jewelry to further memorialize their loved one.

2. Float Away in a Balloon

This option really proves that the sky’s the limit when it comes to creative things to do with your ashes. The ashes are placed inside of a large, helium filled balloon which is then released to float away. Once the balloon reaches a high enough altitude, around 5 miles, the balloon crystalizes and bursts, scattering the ashes inside. If 5 miles isn’t quite high enough for you, there is also the option to have your ashes transported via weather balloon to the stratosphere for scattering to later return to the ground as rain. 

3. Become a Work of Art

If you’ve ever wanted to be immortalized in a painting, this option may be right for you. Cremated remains are mixed into oil paint before the artists set to work painting your portrait. Since only a small amount of ash is used to create each masterpiece, you could commission several paintings to share with multiple friends and family members.

4. Get Back to Nature

Scattering gardens are becoming an increasingly popular option in the US, as they provide flexibility for the exact spot of your scattering while also providing a physical location for the family to go to remember their loved one.  Scattering gardens create a beautiful, inviting, and more nature-like setting for your final resting place than a traditional cemetery.

5. Go Out With a Bang

For something a little showier, you might consider having your ashes made into fireworks.  A small portion of your ashes can be added to a variety of professional-grade fireworks to suit your personality, from large colorful displays to something quite and sophisticated. 

6. Mark the Passage of Time

This option is an interesting take on the classic urn. Hourglass urns are simply glass urns filled with a person’s cremated remains in place of sand. They come in a variety of sizes, from large table-top pieces to small pendants, giving you options on how many people can share a portion of your ashes. 

7. Go Out to Sea

While most donors choose to have their ashes returned to their family, MedCure does also give the option to have your ashes scattered at sea. For the scatterings, we use a biodegradable urn which is designed to float on top of the water for a short time, sink down, and then rapidly dissolve and scatter the ashes into the water after being fully immersed.



If you are interested in learning more about whole body donation and the role that it plays in advancing medical science, you can visit us online at medcure.org. Or, you can call our 24/7 toll free number 866-560-2525 to speak with one of our knowledgeable Donation Coordinators.