Barbara Dougherty donates her body to science

Following in the footsteps of her beloved father, Dewey Beach lifer Barbara “One Tough Cookie” Dougherty donated her body to science after she died Oct. 27.

Barbara’s daughter, Sarah, sat down for an interview Nov. 19 - the day Barbara’s son, Neil, was traveling back from Anatomy Gifts Registry in Hanover, Md., with Barbara’s ashes.

“She was a very giving person, and this was one way of giving one last gift,” she said.

Sarah said she, Neil and their brother Brian fully supported Barbara’s decision, and weren’t surprised Barbara wanted to donate her body to science. Sarah said her mother had long been signed up as an organ donor, but after being diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago, that was no longer an option.

“Her father, Dr. Frederick Quillen, had done the same thing, and she always thought that was admirable,” said Sarah. “She wanted to be cremated anyway. This is just an extra step to help science.”

Anatomy Gifts Registry has been operating as a 501c3 non-profit since 1994.

Kana Neibert, Anatomy Gifts Registry assistant director of compliance, said they receive 80 to 100 bodies a month as donations, from all over the country. She said the typical age of the bodies donated is in the 70s.

Neibert said once the registry accepts a donation, the staff figures out how the body will do the most good, using a very strict protocol to decide which organizations receive donations. The scope of the research needs to be very clear, she said.

Sarah said the donation process is straightforward. Barbara filled out a questionnaire to see to if her body would be accepted. Once it was, some additional preliminary paperwork was completed. The family let Anatomy Gifts know Barbara was in hospice shortly before her death. The day of her death, Anatomy Gifts picked up Barbara’s body.

“Once the time came, there was no wondering about who, what, where,” she said.

Neibert said about six months after a donation a letter is sent to the family of the donor letting them know how the body was used in the name of science.

Every donor is unique and different, and most donors go toward multiple projects, said Neibert.

“There’s really a need for this,” said Neibert, explaining that there is no substitute for training on a real person for future doctors and emergency services personnel.

Editor's note: Based on information provided by Sarah Dougherty, this story has been updated to reflect that Anatomy Gifts arranged for pickup of Barbara Dougherty's body on the day she died, and not the day after as originally reported.