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Funeral homes offer to preserve DNA

Written by DeadGirl
Sunday, 23 July 2006
When a family member dies, there are plenty of decisions to make about burial, a funeral and other details. Now many people are being given another choice that evokes the television show "CSI" and even a bit of science fiction. Five Kanawha Valley funeral homes are asking families if they want to preserve and take home the DNA of the deceased. "I wish I'd had it on my own mom and dad," said Rich Bishoff, funeral director at Bartlett-Burdette-Cox Funeral Home on the West Side. Recently, Bishoff began collecting DNA for interested families. For a cost of $145, Bishoff collects skin cells, takes a blood sample and sends it to a lab. The family gets an engraved metal case about the size of a business card holder that stores the DNA until they need it. "We're still trying to educate people about this," Bishoff said. "About 25 percent of people I talk to are very knowledgeable and have an understanding about the applications of DNA samples for their children and grandchildren and what it will mean to generations to come." While the primary reason for testing the DNA at a later date seems to be for medical information or paternity testing, not everything is known about how DNA might be analyzed. "Only the future can tell," said Tim Carpenter, a Huntington funeral director who worked with the Marshall University Forensic Science Center to develop a DNA collection and preservation process for embalmed bodies. "The way technology is moving, the manipulation of genes could be a factor in diagnosing and curing disease in the future," Carpenter said. "My DNA is in a safety deposit box and I also have my daughter's great grandmother's -- she was one of six children and they all died of cancer. "I think this might benefit my daughter in the future," said Carpenter, director at Klingel-Carpenter Mortuary. DNA preservation is also being offered by Casdorph & Curry Funeral Home in St. Albans, Stevens & Grass Funeral Home in Malden, Wilson Funeral Home in Charleston, Tyler Mountain Funeral Home in Cross Lanes and six others around the state. Mary Thomasson, spokeswoman for the Marshall University Forensic Science Center, said, "It's something people are becoming more and more interested in. A lot is based on how technology develops over the next 10 years." Carpenter spent a year collecting DNA samples from 15 bodies, with permission from the families, before and after embalming. The MU Forensic Science Center tested the samples for viability. "When a death has just occurred and I call a family, they are not in the right frame of mind to understand what this service is," Carpenter said. "The body is usually embalmed by the time we can sit down with them and explain it." The study showed that the DNA collected after embalming was as viable as that collected before -- giving funeral directors and families more time to consider the option. Carpenter said 75 percent of families opt for the DNA preservation. "We're the last opportunity a family has to obtain DNA," Carpenter said. "Most often it is the children who want this because they understand how it could benefit their children and their grandchildren. "I think I'm helping future generations to save lives and cure disease," Carpenter said. "My own physician is absolutely fascinated by this." Carpenter said there has been a lot of interest. He is now assisting an Orlando, Fla., funeral home in starting DNA preservation through the MU lab. And a film crew from France will be coming soon to shoot a documentary on the West Virginia project. SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2006071423/

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Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries

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Have you decided on eternal repose?

	earthen burial
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	cremation
	donation to science
	cyrogenically frozen
	you mean I'm still alive?

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