Donate your Pacemaker – Should I do this? There is such a lot for us to consider when it comes to our passing. However, did you know that you can now also donate your pacemaker after you die? Laura Richardson explains . . .
According to the British Heart Foundation, around 25000 people in the UK have a pacemaker fitted each year. A Pacemaker is used in patients where the heart is not functioning properly causing the heart to beat too slowly or if the chambers of the heart are pumping inefficiently. Current pacemakers last for approximately 7-10 years once fitted within a patient. When someone who has been fitted with a pacemaker dies, what happens to the pacemaker depends upon whether they wish to be buried or cremated. Usually, if someone with a pacemaker fitted is buried, then the pacemaker will remain in the body. However, if someone with a pacemaker wishes to be cremated, then the pacemaker is removed prior to the cremation due to the risk of explosion. Current EU rules state that a pacemaker can only be used once within Europe. This is also the current legal status in the USA. Therefore, currently, when a pacemaker is removed from a body, it is disposed of as medical waste.
However, there are many countries that do allow a pacemaker to be reused. Therefore, whilst not yet a common request, it is possible to request for a pacemaker to be removed after your death and donated to a charity that will sterilise and test the pacemaker to ascertain whether it is fit for reuse. If the pacemaker is considered fit for reuse then it will be sent abroad to be fitted in a patient in the developing world who could not otherwise afford to have the operation.
If you would like to amend your Will to reflect your wish to donate your pacemaker to be reused after your death, contact Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services. If you are considering amending your Will, it may be useful to thoroughly review your Will in order to make sure that it reflects your current wishes. Amending your Will is usually a straightforward process. However, you may well have some queries regarding your potential amendments. Therefore Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services offer a free initial consultation in which we can discuss your wishes in order to ensure that your Will is an accurate reflection of your needs. Whether in Essex or elsewhere in the UK, contact us today!
If you would like to keep up with our latest posts and advice about estate planning through the regular advice that we provide to our clients in this regard, then please also feel free to –
Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ADouglasWills.
Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDouglasWills.
