Would You Donate Your Penis To Science?

It’s a big commitment.

You’re more than likely not going to get much good use out of your penis after you die, but some people are really creeped out over the thought of donating their penis, even if it’s for a really good cause.

In December of 2015, Johns Hopkins University announced that they had selected a wounded soldier who had lost most of his penis in an explosion for the country’s first, and the world’s third, penis transplant. The surgery has been done twice before; once in China, where the man had a negative reaction to the unfamiliar penis on his body and wanted it removed, and in South Africa, where it was a complete success and the man even fathered a child with his new member.

Apparently, one of the biggest concerns and maybe even potential roadblocks for this surgery is the stigma surrounding penis transplants, and people really do not want to give their dicks to people in need, even though they’d be dead when they do. The medical team at Johns Hopkins has even said they fear that the fact this surgery even exists might discourage people from donating any organs at all, let alone their penises. As a result, as the Post notes, “For now, penile donation is strictly opt-in.”

Penis transplants are meant to restore sexual and bodily function, as well as being “very important in terms of giving back a sense of self,” clinical research manager of the Johns Hopkins Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Carisa Cooney, told The Washington Post.

Yet all that potential benefit aside, could you live an afterlife as a dick-free spirit, haunting the world? It’s not for everyone. Apparently, the donor’s member in the South Africa case could only be used if the doctors gave him a mock dick to be buried with.

It might depend on your conception of the afterlife. If you think there’s any sort of life after death, it’s understandable why it’d be a challenge to part with your package. And even if you think life is over the second your pulse stops, it could be a potentially emotional decision your family then has to deal with.

On the one hand, you’ll never experience the removal surgery. On the other, if there were a zombie apocalypse and your dickless corpse were resurrected, would the other undead give you the same respect?

So we put the question to you: if you knew you were going to die, and your dick had the chance to greatly improve someone’s life, would you do it?