 
Med Students Honor Body Donors |
Each year, about 300 bodies are given to the School of Medicine body donation program. These gifts allow students of all educational levels to learn and understand the complexities of the human body in a way unmatched by textbooks and lectures. Medical students from the class of 2003 and faculty from the School of Medicine joined with more than 600 donor family members Oct. 13 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."
The program makes it possible for students to learn from the body itself. This benefits medical, physical therapy or occupational therapy students who are taking gross anatomy for the first time, fourth-year medical students who return to the laboratory to assimilate 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 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."
A body donor must be at least 18 years old. The intent to donate one's body may be revoked at any time. The only expense to a family or estate is transporting the body to the receiving institution. Donor forms may be requested from the department of anatomy and neurobiology at 577-8271. More information about the School of Medicine body donation service and program can be found on the Internet at www.slu.edu/colleges/med/anatomy/donor/index.shtml.
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