Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Brand Logo

agnos.is Forums

  1. Home
  2. Ask Lemmy
  3. How would one confirm that the ashes in the urn are from who their supposed to be?

How would one confirm that the ashes in the urn are from who their supposed to be?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Ask Lemmy
asklemmy
30 Posts 26 Posters 0 Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • S [email protected]

    Snort a line and see what it tastes like.

    grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.worldG This user is from outside of this forum
    grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.worldG This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote last edited by
    #15

    Uuughhhh, this reminds me of that episode on My Strange Addiction with the widow who was addicted to eating her husband's ashes. Fucking heartbreaking, man.

    1 Reply Last reply
    2
    • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

      Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

      I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

      It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

      Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

      I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

      I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

      Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
      https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

      A This user is from outside of this forum
      A This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote last edited by [email protected]
      #16

      I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US

      sigh. I can't speak for Canada, but unfortunately it does happen in the US: California, 1980's. Colorado, 2010's. And the one that brought it to my attention, New Jersey, 2006:

      The indictment was the first set of charges to come out of a widening scandal involving scores of funeral homes [that sent the bodies for cremation] and hundreds of bodies, including that of “Masterpiece Theatre” host Alistair Cooke, who died in 2004. The investigation has raised fears that some of the body parts could spread disease to transplant recipients.

      1 Reply Last reply
      2
      • L [email protected]
        This post did not contain any content.
        hegar@fedia.ioH This user is from outside of this forum
        hegar@fedia.ioH This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote last edited by
        #17

        There's a metal identification tag that goes with the body the entire time it's in the funeral home/crematorium, according to my partner who works at one. It gets taped to the outside of the urn.

        That's not foolproof though, the wrong ashes getting released to someone is rare but is usually easy to spot afterwards.

        There's no way for you to 100% guarantee that the ashes are your loved one, except that there's no strong benefit to a crematorium doing that and heads would roll if they did.

        There have been scandals where pets were cremated in bulk then the combined ashes divvied out, but not humans.

        1 Reply Last reply
        10
        • L [email protected]
          This post did not contain any content.
          K This user is from outside of this forum
          K This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote last edited by [email protected]
          #18

          Taste it. It's the only way to know for sure. Ofc, this is most helpful if one was forward thinking enough to have already taken a sliver of them during life, charred it, and then tasted that. It's kind of hard to compare without that data point, but, depending on how well one knew the subject, it might still be possible.

          1 Reply Last reply
          2
          • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

            Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

            I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

            It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

            Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

            I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

            I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

            Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
            https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

            G This user is from outside of this forum
            G This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote last edited by
            #19

            I had bone graft put in after I got my wisdom teeth out but I'm pretty sure my dentist told me it was some sort of animal bone, not human. I'll trust him cause that's slightly less creepy to me.

            N 1 Reply Last reply
            1
            • L [email protected]
              This post did not contain any content.
              S This user is from outside of this forum
              S This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote last edited by
              #20

              When my grandpa was cremated, we went in the cremation room to see him for the last time. Then we stepped out. After a couple of minutes, we got back in to see the remains. Apparently there are still a lot of larger solid bones that remain, and they have to ground them up into the “ashes” you normally would see. We step out of the room again, and they come out with the urn containing the ashes after another few minutes.

              1 Reply Last reply
              1
              • G [email protected]

                I had bone graft put in after I got my wisdom teeth out but I'm pretty sure my dentist told me it was some sort of animal bone, not human. I'll trust him cause that's slightly less creepy to me.

                N This user is from outside of this forum
                N This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote last edited by
                #21

                I didn't realise that this was a thing.

                I guess your body just kind of tolerates bone for some reason? Usually for transplants you need meds to suppress your immune system forever.

                G 1 Reply Last reply
                1
                • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

                  Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

                  I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

                  It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

                  Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

                  I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

                  I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

                  Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
                  https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

                  N This user is from outside of this forum
                  N This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #22

                  I find this really hard to believe.

                  I'm sure that unauthorised organ harvesting has occurred in isolated circumstances.

                  But I'm incredulous that it could happen on an industrial scale.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  2
                  • N [email protected]

                    I didn't realise that this was a thing.

                    I guess your body just kind of tolerates bone for some reason? Usually for transplants you need meds to suppress your immune system forever.

                    G This user is from outside of this forum
                    G This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #23

                    I got curious. Apparently they are from cow bones and are processed at high temps to avoid immune rejection.

                    Xenogenic bone is derived from non-living bone of another species, usually a cow. The bone is processed at very high temperatures to avoid the potential for immune rejection and contamination. Like allogenic grafts, xenogenic grafts serve as a framework for bone from the surrounding area to grow and fill the void. Source

                    There are different kinds of grafts though that do include cadaver or auto-grafting, but I am 99% sure my doctor said mine was cow bone.

                    N 1 Reply Last reply
                    1
                    • T This user is from outside of this forum
                      T This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote last edited by
                      #24

                      Here the tag is a ceramic tile that is put in the coffin before cremation. And i think it is verified by at least two people. But in the end, if enough people fuck up or fake, it could be anybody.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      2
                      • G [email protected]

                        I got curious. Apparently they are from cow bones and are processed at high temps to avoid immune rejection.

                        Xenogenic bone is derived from non-living bone of another species, usually a cow. The bone is processed at very high temperatures to avoid the potential for immune rejection and contamination. Like allogenic grafts, xenogenic grafts serve as a framework for bone from the surrounding area to grow and fill the void. Source

                        There are different kinds of grafts though that do include cadaver or auto-grafting, but I am 99% sure my doctor said mine was cow bone.

                        N This user is from outside of this forum
                        N This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote last edited by
                        #25

                        Yeah right. I guess if you process it so it's just calcium or something rather than living tissue.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        2
                        • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

                          Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

                          I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

                          It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

                          Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

                          I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

                          I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

                          Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
                          https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

                          whynotsquirrel@sh.itjust.worksW This user is from outside of this forum
                          whynotsquirrel@sh.itjust.worksW This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote last edited by
                          #26

                          Apart from bones, what can you take from a dead body? Organs have to be "alive" to be taken, so you can only harvest organs from brain dead people and still under life assistance

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          2
                          • lemmie689@lemmy.sdf.orgL [email protected]

                            Except when this happens

                            he may have given fake ashes to next of kin who sought cremations, authorities disclosed Thursday.

                            From Aug 21 headlines

                            https://apnews.com/article/colorado-funeral-home-bodies-pueblo-coroner-e5178e0639e1ee3cb3955effbfce55f4

                            blackmist@feddit.ukB This user is from outside of this forum
                            blackmist@feddit.ukB This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote last edited by
                            #27

                            And this one

                            https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwwwy654e2o

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

                              Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

                              I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

                              It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

                              Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

                              I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

                              I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

                              Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
                              https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

                              M This user is from outside of this forum
                              M This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #28

                              I'd only care that my loved one was cut up at the funeral home if I was planning on bringing them back as a zombie

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              1
                              • O [email protected]

                                A family member that had screws in their leg was cremated. The screws were in the can of ashes. Pretty sure it was them.

                                M This user is from outside of this forum
                                M This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote last edited by
                                #29

                                Where i work we need to remove all the metal from the ashes. Because they need to pass-through a grinder and metal would damage it. The only real identication is from the litle fireproof stone with a number, and our internal log keeping which we do a lot of.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • ininewcrow@lemmy.caI [email protected]

                                  Just make sure you aren't cremated in Eastern Europe

                                  I watched a documentary a while ago about how crematoriums in Eastern Europe, especially in war torn areas like Ukraine, routinely collect bodies and then spend the time cutting up the bodies while in their care for organ harvesting. One of the biggest businesses out there apparently is bone harvesting .... bone material that is used for dentistry, bone repair and all kinds of things. Bone grafts and powder that makes its way to the medical market in first world countries like the US and Canada.

                                  It made me think of the process of having a tooth pulled ... they often use bone grafts to help the healing process of a newly extracted tooth. That bone graft material had to come from somewhere.

                                  Once the body is in the care of a private business .. who knows what they do with it. Then the body is cremated and no one would ever know that the body had been disrupted and cut up.

                                  I don't think stuff like that happens in Canada or US ... but we do just blindly put our full trust in these business to collect, store and process dead bodies for us without much oversight or monitoring. Part of the documentary did mention that in the early 2000s, there was one morgue in New York state that had someone dissect bodies to collect parts illegally before they were found out. After that, they had to tighten up laws and security and regulations dealing with the dead.

                                  I felt weird just mentioning all this so I went to look up the documentary .... here it is ...

                                  Body Snatchers Inc. : What If Your Implants Were Stolen Organs?
                                  https://youtu.be/pENORq4KlwU

                                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #30

                                  Honestly, why isn't this just standard procedure for dealing with the dead? Especially if they're already being cremated. It's very weird to me that people are so pearl-clutchy about what happens to a dead body. I would much prefer mine goes to something helpful to someone over sitting on a mantle or frozen in a sterile box.

                                  Obviously the consent part is a valid issue, I (somewhat begrudgingly) wouldn't want to force this on people with deep religious reasons to keep a body whole, but I'd have it be something you have to opt out of.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  2
                                  Reply
                                  • Reply as topic
                                  Log in to reply
                                  • Oldest to Newest
                                  • Newest to Oldest
                                  • Most Votes


                                  • Login

                                  • Login or register to search.
                                  • First post
                                    Last post
                                  0
                                  • Categories
                                  • Recent
                                  • Tags
                                  • Popular
                                  • World
                                  • Users
                                  • Groups