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what do you folks think of a venture that would recycle implants from persons that have passed away?
titanium joints, etc.
harvest them like the organ donor program, except most would not be a direct fit so they would need to be melted down or reformed.

most knee joints are three piece units and the joints are resurface-able as are most hip joints.

yes i am about 20 years ahead of the curve....but its not that far fetched. wouldn't be a get rich scheme, just a similar program like corneas

We all have Living Wills...don't we? The deceased won't have any more need for their metal parts than they do for their organs.

It might be kinda' hard to get a start-up loan?

Oldgringo wrote:We all have Living Wills...don't we? The deceased won't have any more need for their metal parts than they do for their organs.

It might be kinda' hard to get a start-up loan?

No, but they DO have the legal authority in life to determine the disposal of their own body parts, and in death, that authority transfers to the immediate family if such disposal has not been pre-determined.

I wouldn't have any moral or ethical objections, so long as that standard remained in place and the state didn't muscle in and take that authority away from the individuals in question or their families. In other words, if someone wants to be buried with their artificial hip, then they will be buried with it. If they want to donate it, then they will donate it.... ....strictly up to them.

I may be wrong about this, but I seem to remember that crematoriums retain the rights to any metals that melt out, like gold fillings for instance, during the cremation of remains. I would assume this includes metallic skeletal implants. I'm sure that Embalmo can set the record straight.

The biggest problem I see with this is the ability to actually make a profit. Harvesting artificial joints only makes sense if doing so is less expensive than making new ones for those who need them. That would probably require a certain degree of universality of the joints so that they can be easily transferred to other people, or an extreme shortage of the materials required to build new ones.

Ethically, TAM is on target.

thanks people, for great inputs
i wasn't looking at it as profit generating venture
but more on the lines of adding to the list of inventory when one chooses to be an organ donor.
cremation severely changes the properties of the exotic metals and makes them not as useful.
the joints or parts would need to be harvested upon death as corneas and other organs are done now
being retired i find my time allows me to be more involved in other things that don't involve food on the table so to speak

According to WIKIPEDIA:

Not all that remains is bone. There may be melted metal lumps from missed jewellery; casket furniture; dental fillings; and surgical implants, such as hip replacements. Large items such as titanium hip replacements (which tarnish but do not melt) or casket hinges are usually removed before processing, as they may damage the processor. (If they are missed at first, they must ultimately be removed before processing is complete, as items such as titanium joint replacements are far too durable to be ground). Implants may be returned to the family, but are more commonly sold as ferrous/non-ferrous scrap metal. After the remains are processed, smaller bits of metal such as tooth fillings, and rings (commonly known as gleanings) are sieved out and may be later interred in common, consecrated ground in a remote area of the cemetery. They may also be sold as precious metal scrap.

I came across this searching for something else and remembered this thread.

Anyway....

1. Most metallic surgical implants are melted during cremation.
2. Titanium implants do not melt.
3. Both are sold as scrap metal.

So there doesn't appear to be a market for recycling the actual implants and their value is as scrap metal - either ferrous or non-ferrous.

I have read that pacemakers must be removed prior to cremation so that the batteries do not explode.

Even as scrap metal, titanium would probably still be valuable.

WildBill wrote:I have read that pacemakers must be removed prior to cremation so that the batteries do not explode.

Even as scrap metal, titanium would probably still be valuable.

I haven't heard that. I would imagine that it wouldn't be much concern in a concrete oven lined with gas jets. That aside, I would think that it would be prudent to remove prior to or at least filter any parts from the ash during the pulverization. A clank in an urn could be disconcerting.

Dragonfighter wrote:

WildBill wrote:I have read that pacemakers must be removed prior to cremation so that the batteries do not explode.

Even as scrap metal, titanium would probably still be valuable.

I haven't heard that. I would imagine that it wouldn't be much concern in a concrete oven lined with gas jets. That aside, I would think that it would be prudent to remove prior to or at least filter any parts from the ash during the pulverization. A clank in an urn could be disconcerting.

Most high temperature ovens are lined with ceramic bricks to keep them insulated. Ceramics can be very brittle.

I would really hate to be blamed for damage to the oven during my cremation.