When you have some bit of you surgically removed, are you allowed to keep it? William Shatner recently won a fight to reclaim his kidney stones, which he donated to a charity auction. Slate's Explainer column investigates the current law and practice of reclaiming our surgical waste. My grandfather used to keep a disgusting jar of 100 gallstones he'd had removed — it was endlessly fascinating to me.
Just because there aren't many laws against taking home body parts doesn't mean it's an easy thing to do. Most hospitals make patients sign a waiver that cedes ownership of their surgical leavings to the pathology lab. And many teaching hospitals are unwilling to give up potential research samples. To have a good shot at keeping the stuff that's removed, let your doctor know before the procedure. You also usually have to sign a liability release form on the way out.
Advances in laparoscopic and microscopic procedures mean that many body parts that were once removed whole are now taken out in small pieces. Doctors now use shock waves to break up many stones that might have been surgically removed in the past. Even if the desired piece comes out whole, a pathologist sometimes destroys it while taking samples. He can also decide that it represents a biohazard, though most communicable diseases can be killed with formaldehyde. (Some notable exceptions include hepatitis and prion diseases.)
(Thanks, David!)
