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If you are looking answers reagarding how to donate your body to science look no further. For some people, one way of putting their bodies to rest after death is through donating their body to science. You can help the advance of medicine; and it is a free way of getting cremated (down the road).

The researchers at FindLaw have put together a handy bit of advice for people contemplating body donation.

Even though advance health care directives help people to plan ahead and express the medical decisions they want in case they become seriously ill, there are still many New York locals who may not feel the need to have one. According to The Wall Street Journal, only one third of Americans have some type of advance directive prepared, such as a medical power of attorney, or a living will.

In an effort to encourage more people to outline their end-of-life wishes, many states are promoting new programs called Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (Polst), which aims to help direct doctors with a patient's specific health care instructions. A Polst clarifies and simplifies the medical choices a patient wants, such as whether or not to receive antibiotics, and is signed by both doctor and patient.

Many NY estate planning attorneys may encourage New Yorkers to develop a living will or health care directive, which communicates a person's preferences for medical treatment in the event he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to express him or herself. Living wills may often direct health care providers with explicit instructions, such as withholding treatment.

In the case of 85-year-old Al Barnes, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported his 1993 healthcare directive specified that he did not want to be supported by any life-sustaining care. If there was no realistic expectation that Barnes could recover, the directive asked that he then "be allowed to die and not be kept alive by medications, artificial means or 'heroic measures.'"

Surveys and studies show that most Americans support the gift of life that comes with organ donation, and yet so many of us don't do it. Is it just the difficulty of facing our mortality that keeps us from an act that can save a life, or is it the fear that the process is too complicated, legally or morally? Here are a few questions and answers that might help you decide if organ donation is right for you.

According to the New York Department of Health, more than 8,000 New Yorkers are still on waiting lists for transplants of organs like kidneys, livers, and hearts. One organ donor can save up to eight lives or with tissue donation, can improve 12 or more lives by restoring eyesight, helping fight infections in burn patients and preventing disability.

Most Americans are uncomfortable with discussing end of life matters such as living wills, powers of attorney and even trusts or other estate planning instruments. But what do you do with someone whose deep cultural beliefs prohibit speaking of death? You might try poetry.

According to a in-depth article in The New York Times, outreach workers have found a way to broach end of life legal and health issues with their elderly Navajo patients in northwest Arizona. Mitzie Begay is cross-cultural coordinator for the home-based care program at the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital; it is her job to teach patients about living wills, durable powers of attorney, do-not-resuscitate orders.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz recently flew to see Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was hospitalized after suffering severe injuries from a horrible shooting in Arizona. According to the New York Daily News, Gillibrand and Wasserman-Schultz were able to witness the emotional and poignant moment of Giffords’ “miracle” awakening during their visit.

When the women arrived in Giffords’ hospital room, she had one eye covered with bandages and part of her skull removed after a bullet that traveled to her brain caused some swelling. Gillibrand and Wasserman-Schultz were talking to Giffords’ husband Mark Kelly when she suddenly opened her other eye and reached out to touch her husband.

A living will is a type of health care directive that allows individuals to retain control over their lives and estates in the event they become unable to make their own health care decisions. While some New Yorkers may not have the time to think about such a situation, FindLaw offers some basic information many should consider when deciding whether they should having a living will.

Some medical treatments have left patients in a limited condition referred to as a "persistent vegetative state." The person is alive similarly to the way a plant is alive, but he or she cannot speak, move, or show any signs of brain activity. Health care providers and patients' families can often disagree to the care a patient needs when he or she is in a persistent vegetative state, like an irreversible coma.

While this blog has covered the advance healthcare directive (also known as a living will) before, the New York Times sheds some light on a new type of living will. It is called "Physicians Orders For Life Sustaining Treatment."

It is also known as POLST. You can ask a NY estate attorney more about POLST, but you may have to use a different acronym. It is known as a MOLST in New York. MOLST allows physicians to honor a patient's wishes regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other life-sustaining treatment. It is seen as a unified form that is intended to be used in all medical care settings.

When an individual is diagnosed with a terminal illness or a potentially fatal medical condition, drafting a healthcare directive with the help of a NY estate attorney can help.

The Associated Press reports that more and more Americans are literally being medically "treated to death." What does that mean? It means that Americans are opting to try out desperate measure medical treatments in order to prolong a life.

According to the AP, more than 80 percent of Americans who die in the United States have such prolonged medical conditions. Most Americans die from battles with cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease. However, when patients were asked in a study done by Dartmouth Atlas Project, more than 80 percent of them said that they wanted to avoid hospitalization and intensive care when they are dying.

Gary Coleman's story is a sad story about when your healthcare proxy may or may not follow your wishes according to your living will. CNN reports that in spite of Gary Coleman's living will requesting that he be on life support for at least fifteen days, his designated healthcare proxy Shannon Price pulled the plug after just one day of life support.

Which bring us to a question that you can ask a New York probate attorney: