Self-explanatory title. I am currently signed up with my state as an organ donor, but in my experience, if you want to do good, you probably shouldn't go through the government. What options are available? I can think of a few:

* organ donation
* donate your body to be used for medical education
* donate your body for scientific research

What other options are there, and which do you think is best?

Given the long-term returns from medical research, I tend to assume that's the best option, though I haven't studied the matter in detail.

I spoke to Julian Savulescu about this ages ago, and he said he wanted to put together a list for practical ethics. I might nudge him about it, since I'd really like to hear a view on this, too.

One thing I remember is he and a medical student recommended against giving it for medical training, on the anecdotal grounds that they didn't feel they'd benefited much from working with cadavers.

I will never die!!!!

*ahem* Medical research/organ donation sounds good. I'd also bring up stuff like willing large amounts of money to good causes, life insurance going to good causes etc.

Is there any way to sell off parts of your body after you die for money before you die? (or money after you die that goes to charities) Seems like it would be something that you should be able to do but can't Only example I can think of would be selling organs on the black market, though that's probably hard to set up!

I know a lot of animal advocates that would donate their dead body for avoiding animal suffering (due to animal testing). How could this be accomplished?

I wonder if it's possible to sell your organs in Iran and donate the proceeds to charity.

Seems like you would have to arrange to reliably die in Iran for it to be worth their while.

Actually, I doubt anyone would pay much for posthumous organ donation in general - in the same conversation with Julian, he said something to the effect that 'you basically have to be hit by an ambulance just outside the hospital for your organs to be well enough preserved to reuse.

Xenotransplantation is the transfer of living cells, tissues and/or organs from non-human animal species into humans. But could a human to donate organs to a non-human animal?

I probably wont be dying for a while and I would have to look at the options are once I get nearer to dying.

Cryonics really appeals to me, if I can be a good enough utilitarian that might be close to the right thing.

If I knew I was close to death then I might look into things that I could do before death that might be valuable (like be the subject of lethal experiments). That seems like it might be a good option.