Body Donation

ENGLISH PRESENTATION OF A PR PROGRAM: BODY DONATION

We are Science students from the Anatomy Laboratory.

We want to promote the donation of the body for medical and scientific research.

Although whole-body donation for the purposes of medical science is extremely important for medical education, the number of persons who choose to donate remains low.

We want to make conferences is your universities to manage communication with the research laboratory.

We will explain you how we plan to present this to the students and how our argumentation is built.

Our key public are the actual students of those universities which, we think, are open-minded enough and yet critical in looking at an important issue and commitment. It is also the age where personality and beliefs are building up. University students also share the same interest for research, education and science as we do and are more likely to consider the benefits with modern views

It is a subject on which most of the people don't have a personal opinion. Because it isn't a subject that is often debated. Most people don't think about what's going to happen when they die as long as they are not at the end of their life. They also have a lack of information or very poor info on the matter.

That's why we first want to focus on the importance of body donation. And explain in what it consists.

We'll first give information about anatomy research and what potential cures for diseases it can bring.

We think this point should come first because before starting to introduce ethical issues the technical explanation should be clear.

The Importance of Body Donation

Anatomy, the study of the structure of the human body, is one of the most important courses in the education of physicians, dentists, and other health professionals such as nurses and physical therapists.

In most of these fields, the study of anatomy comes first in the curriculum and serves as the foundation for other courses.

At the rate at which medical science is advancing, it is increasingly necessary for physicians and other biomedical scientists to conduct special anatomical studies and research.

Countless research and educational projects will benefit. Some examples include development of new surgical techniques and instrumentation as well as treatment and potential cures for maladies such as Asthma, Alzheimer's Disease, Cancer, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Osteoporosis, Parkinson's Disease, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Important Issues

Whether donating a body to medical science for altruistic or practical reasons donation of a human body is not complicated if you know all the rules and regulations for each medical program. The two most important things to remember in all whole body donation programs are:

Ð'* No medical schools or state anatomical boards in Belgium are permitted by law to purchase bodies from families or estates.

Ð'* Physical condition of the body, and not age, is the important factor in body donation. There is usually no upper age limit in donation of a human body to medical science.

Organ Donation

Many individuals wish to donate eyes, tissues and organs for transplantation as well as their whole body to the Anatomy Department. The donation of organs usually does not affect whole body donation, but the acceptability of the body after organs are removed will be determined by the Anatomical Donations Program in accordance with individual conditions and circumstances pertaining at the time of death. The donation of organs/tissues for transplantation takes precedence over whole body donation if both types of donations are made.

The next point would be the legal steps of the engagement. What must be done by the potential donor? We'll also show in our file a typical form which has to be filled.

We'll also distribute donor card at the exit to the students who are interested, which they have to keep on themselves all the time.

Procedure:

When somebody chooses to bequeath their body to science, she has to contact directly the University of her choice. A hand written document has to express this will clearly, the date and signature should be on it. The original should be given to the university and a copy should be kept.

The university will send a confirmation and a card to join to the ID so that the family or heir could be informed. At time of death, the family will have to give the copy of the document through which the deceased stated his will to leg his body to science.

The university hospitals have to be notices as fast as possible. The transfer of the corpse has to be done within the 48 hours following the death. The hospitals only accept the bodies of people who died in Belgium.

The body is retained for approximately 6 months to 2 years. After studies are completed, the body will be cremated and the ashes interred. Your family may request to have your ashes returned. The ashes will be returned by registered mail to the person who is designated on the donation form to receive them.

Concerning the charges, there is nothing to pay to the university. But all the charges linked to the obsequies are supported by the family as for a traditional burial or incineration. Social aid and death insurances will bring financial help as they usually do.

Prices and charges are reduced by an agreement in order to promote the body donation.

In this part we will also develop the essential issue of the respect of the body. A lot of people have apprehensions about how their body will be treated. It's a common thought that medical students treat the body with disrespect, play and joke with it. It's absolutely not the case. If the case occurs, we can certify that the teacher will not tolerate it. It's also important to state that all use of the body is closely supervised, and the identity of the body is known only to a few faculty and staff members. Bodies are not displayed to the public.

Respect for the Donor

Survivors may derive comfort from the knowledge that respect for those who have donated their bodies is maintained at all times. The indispensable contribution that