“Learning from the Dead” follows the process of whole body donation from the start to the finish. It begins with the story of man who searched for a meaningful way to contribute after he dies, and he decided to donate his body to science. It then traces the physical process of body donation, with interviews along the way with people at the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois (a non-profit that oversees the process), along with professors at various anatomy labs at universities and with students who study the bodies, which are truly their first patients. It ends by returning to the story of the donor, as his wife reflects on the meaning of her husband’s gift.
