By Milos Djordjevic, Funeral Director and Owner, Caring Cremations

If your loved one had a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator, the device needs to be removed before cremation. Families sometimes worry about this. You don’t need to do anything yourself; it is a simple step the funeral home takes care of. Here is what to know.

Why pacemakers are removed before cremation

Pacemakers and implanted defibrillators run on sealed batteries. In the heat of cremation, a battery can burst and damage the equipment or hurt the people who operate it. For that reason, Illinois law does not allow a crematory to cremate someone it knows has a pacemaker or another implant that could be hazardous.

Who takes care of it

Under Illinois law, when the family notes a pacemaker on the cremation authorization, the funeral director is responsible for making sure it has been removed before the cremation. At Caring Cremations, our licensed team takes care of this before the cremation, with the same dignity as every other step.

What it costs

Pacemaker or defibrillator removal is $50, listed with all of our prices. If you aren’t sure whether your loved one had a device, tell us. We check before the cremation, and there is no charge for checking.

Other implants to tell us about

Let us know about any implanted device, even if you aren’t sure it matters, such as:

an implanted defibrillator (ICD)
an insulin or pain medication pump
a spinal cord or nerve stimulator
radioactive seed implants used to treat cancer

Metal joint replacements, such as hips and knees, are not dangerous and don’t need to be removed beforehand. After cremation, metal pieces are separated from the cremated remains.

Flame or water cremation

We ask about implanted devices for every family, whether you choose flame cremation or water cremation.

How we help

Call us any hour at (773) 866-2273 with any question about a device, or arrange online in about 15 minutes. The online arrangement asks about pacemakers, and “Not sure” is always an answer you can choose. If you’d like to know more about timing, see how long cremation takes in Illinois.