Whole body donation helps students of health sciences gain a better understanding of the human body and master their surgical skills. Medical professionals, first responders and others in the community also benefit from hands-on anatomical training.
Choosing a program that’s accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) ensures that your body will be used for valuable research and education while being respectfully cared for. It’s a cost-effective and compassionate option that benefits you and your family.
Education
Anatomical donation is central to the education of physicians, dentists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and other health care professionals. The knowledge acquired through the study of anatomy is used for patient care and medical research. Countless people every day benefit from the skills of doctors trained through the careful anatomical study of donated bodies.
Whole-body donation companies, like United Tissue Network, facilitate the donation of human bodies for medical research, education, and training. They work with medical institutions, universities, and researchers to provide anatomical specimens. These donations play a crucial role in advancing science, improving healthcare, and enhancing education for future medical professionals.
Nothing replaces the experience of studying human anatomy. Anatomy is an integral part of the training of all physicians, including gynecologists and oncologists who must understand the complex relationships of structures within the pelvis and breasts, or orthopedic surgeons who need to know how to reconstruct the knee or ankle or hip. Similarly, pathologists and engineers need to understand how the human body works in order to better design instruments or vehicles, and police officers, paramedics and first responders can gain valuable hands-on experience by interacting with donated bodies during their training.
All donations are carefully evaluated for suitability for anatomical study. The donor’s wishes are taken into consideration, and in some cases, certain conditions may make the donation unsuitable for the purposes of teaching and research (such as previous autopsy or embalming). It is important that donors discuss their wishes with family members prior to registering, and they should keep in contact with a representative of UNE or the anatomical program to ensure that their desires will be followed in the event of their death.
After an individual’s passing, the anatomical donation program will arrange to have their donated body picked up by a funeral home. The estate of the donor pays all expenses associated with the initial preparation and transportation of the body to OHSU, and covers utility charges including heating and cooling, lights and water. The OHSU Body Donation Program provides internal organization and support, and the donated remains are stored in a dedicated facility until needed for teaching or research.
Each year at the end of their first-year Anatomy lab, Feinberg students organize a memorial service for all donors, with their families invited to attend. This ceremony is a time to express gratitude, reflect on the experience and honor the generosity of those who have made this selfless gift.
Research
Body donation plays a critical role in helping medical and other health-related science students master their comprehension of the complex anatomy of the human body. The gift of body donation allows researchers to develop and test life-saving medical procedures. These include arthroscopic surgeries for knee, ankle and shoulder joints, surgical approaches to burn wounds, plastic surgery procedures for facial reconstruction after severe trauma, reconstructive surgery following limb amputation, and many more surgical and medical treatments.
When doctors and other health care professionals are able to test their techniques on real human bodies, they are able to ensure that these life-saving treatments will work on future patients. Thousands of people benefit from these research advances each day.
As with organ donations, the decision to make a whole body donation can be made at any time before death, although it is best to make a donation intent known to family members and friends. Prospective donors should register with the donor organization of their choice, and be sure to let their legal next of kin or executor know about their donation plans.
Generally, people who wish to donate their bodies for medical education and science will be accepted, unless they have certain diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, or tuberculosis, which prevent acceptance. Other factors that may prohibit a donor include advanced decomposition of the body or extensive medical or surgical procedures prior to death.
Because whole body donation does not involve a transplant, the process of becoming a donor is less complicated than registering for organ or tissue donations. Donors can register for both and can sign up using the same donation symbol on their driver’s license if they want. However, it is important to register with both organizations and to let loved ones know about their intentions so that they can honor those wishes after death.
Unlike with organ and tissue donations, there is no one national registry that matches donors with medical schools, hospitals and other research programs that need their gifts. It is therefore important for potential donors to research the programs they would like their bodies donated to, and talk with a representative at the program so that they can be confident in their chosen institution’s commitment to respectful handling of all donations.
Surgical Training
For medical and health-related science students, whole body donation allows them to fully grasp the complexity of human anatomy. Without this knowledge, medical professionals are unable to effectively treat patients. Medical and health-related science students utilize donated bodies to practice surgical techniques, learn hands-on bio skills, and participate in advanced disease-based research. This important work helps advance medical technology, training, and education.
During their first year of medical school, many health-related science students rely on the dissection of cadavers to help master anatomical concepts and procedures (Gatica-Araneda and Alfaro-Toloza 2014). As a result, many countries lack a robust system of donor-based medical simulation programs or have only one dedicated to body donation (Habicht et al. 2018).
In the absence of an adequate number of whole-body donors, some schools rely on artificial models or rely solely on specimens from long-standing museum collections (Smith et al. 2015). Fortunately, these limitations are changing. In some cases, medical schools in developing countries have established body donation programs to complement their traditional teaching methods (Killoran et al. 2021).
Medical and health-related science students also use donated bodies to learn the basics of surgery and the complexities of arthroscopic knee, shoulder and hip replacement surgeries, as well as to test new implantable devices for these procedures. Additionally, whole body donations contribute to a wide variety of scientific studies that require the most realistic model possible. These include study of cellular and molecular processes, study of bone fractures and deformities, and advanced disease-based research that could help develop treatment options for conditions such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and dementia (Zdilla 2020a; b).
Individuals who choose to be a whole-body donor may register in advance with an accredited tissue bank or authorize a legally authorized party to do so on their behalf at the time of death. The tissue program can then coordinate with the organ donor and/or transplantation organization to ensure that all donation requirements are met (see Frequently Asked Questions below). In addition, a person can be both a whole-body donor and an organ donor at the same time, though it is best to discuss this decision with family members in advance.
End-of-Life Care
While organ donation saves lives and moves medical science forward, the human body is also essential in helping students grasp their comprehension of complex anatomy and develop the skills to treat patients. This is particularly true for surgeons and other healthcare professionals who, prior to entering the field, need hands-on experience in the preparation of anatomical specimens, dissection, and clinical research.
While it is possible to register as an organ donor and also choose to donate whole body to science, it’s important to remember that doing so creates two separate legal records. In most cases, only the organ and tissue donations will take priority when it’s time to donate, while whole-body donations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
A specialized medical facility will assess the eligibility of an individual’s body for a whole-body donation. A donor’s family or representative will meet with a member of the medical staff to discuss their wishes, as well as the process of donating a whole body for medical education and scientific research. The doctor will then coordinate with the OPO to ensure that the donor’s request is met.
Featured Image Source: https://img.freepik.com/free-photo/doctor-wearing-face-mask-hospital_23-2148728373.jpg?semt=ais_hybrid