The Approach of Anatomists towards Voluntary Body Donation: Inspiring or Dispiriting???

Abstract

Background: Body donation is a noble act towards contributing to medical education and research. Although anatomists encourage the general population to donate bodies, the attitude of anatomists toward donating their bodies is less discussed in the literature. Aim and Objectives: The present study was conducted to obtain the knowledge, attitude and practice of anatomists towards voluntary body donation. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among the anatomists of different Medical Colleges of South India. To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of voluntary body donation, a semi-structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to the anatomists. Results: The study involved 102 anatomists. The majority 58.3% stated that the primary source of supply of cadavers was from the body donation program. When it came to voluntary body donation, only 32.4% of the anatomists were willing to donate their bodies. The facilitating factors for willingness to donate were contributions to medical education 60.3%, personal satisfaction 7.4%, motivation to the general public 4.4%, and encouragement from a close friend/ colleague 2.9%. The factors that abstained individuals from donating were: restriction from family members 30.9%, mal handling of the cadavers 29.4%, and ritual beliefs 20.6%. Conclusion: The approach of anatomists towards donating their bodies is not promising. It may discourage the general public from donating their bodies. Therefore, it is equally important to inspire and encourage the anatomists towards body donation.

Keywords

• body donation
• anatomists
• cadaver
• dissection
• medical education