Recent events have made me think about my own demise .

 

My Thai bil died last Sunday age 50, he had been in the ICU in a Nakhon Sawan hospital for around 3 weeks with a brain haemorrhage.

We visited around 10 days ago and was told his chances were 50/50, on Sunday his heart failed and attempts to resuscitate failed.

 

What surprised me and others in his family, including his wife, was that he had donated his body to a Chiang Mai hospital ( could possibly be the medical facility in a university) for medical research and any fit for purpose organs ( which later became known as eyes, ear drums, liver and kidneys ) to a hospital in Bangkok.

After some family discussions, it came as quite a shock to some !, his wishes were acted upon. The Nakhon Sawan hospital removed said organs for transport to Bangkok and his body was transported to a hospital in Tak where the Chiang Mai hospital transport would pick up.

 

A service will be held in his hometown ( near Nakhon Sawan ) 7 days after his death but the body will only be released for cremation 2 years later!!, I find this hard to believe and may have got lost in translation.

 

A niece then announced she had donated her body to the Thai Red Cross.

My wife showed an interest in doing the same, which I applauded, until her mother talked her out of it stating that she would not come back (reincarnation) if she did this !!

 

Anyway, i understand this might be unpopular with many Thai due to their religious beliefs but could be a good option for foreigners, cut down the expense and trauma of a 3 or 4 day funeral with a good deed.

 

A quick google search tells me that contacting the Thai Red Cross or your preferred university hospital is the easiest way to go.

If your Embassy needs to be informed I am not sure ?

 

Anyone else considering or have already made arrangements for this ?

My mother died suddenly, an autopsy was talked about but i spoke up "noway,". Sadly I was aware of how some people s remains were treated. This was a world renowned Australian University.

12 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Anyone else considering or have already made arrangements for this ?

Pyre then ashes donated to the rice swamp out back