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A Message From the President
By the Numbers
Human Resources FYI
Medical News
News Briefs
Professional Notes
SLU Stars
Top Ten
Trivia Corner
About 300 bodies a year are given to the School of Medicine's body donation program. These gifts allow students at all educational levels to learn and understand the complexities of the human body in a way unmatched by textbooks and lectures.
On Oct. 15, medical students from the Class of 2001 and faculty from the School of Medicine joined with more than 600 donor family members for a memorial service to acknowledge those individuals who donated their bodies to promote scientific and medical education.
"The gift body donation program at Saint Louis University has existed for more than 40 years," said Dr. Margaret Cooper, professor of anatomy and neurobiology and associate director of the Gift Body Program. "During that time more than 5,000 individuals have given their bodies so others might learn."
The donors are men and women of all ages, races, religious affiliations and socio-economic backgrounds. "They are mothers and fathers, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and cousins," Cooper said. "They are individuals who care so deeply for the future that they gave of themselves."
Among those who benefit from the program are medical, physical therapy or occupational therapy students taking gross anatomy for the first time; fourth-year medical students who return to the laboratory to assimilate their anatomical and clinical knowledge; residents who study their chosen field in extreme depth; and practicing physicians who are developing or learning new techniques.
"Between the gift body donor and the gift body donation program, there is a sacred trust," Cooper said. "Individuals give the ultimate gift of themselves, trusting that we at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine will respect and appreciate them and work with the students as they learn. Indeed, we do all those things."