Body donations: a gift to science and fellow citizens

It is something that almost never makes the news, and so something that very few people think about.  It is the donation of their bodies for medical training.

This week, the University of Ottawa held its annual commemoration ceremony of medical faculty and students and the relatives of donors as a way to thank and honour those who have donated their bodies to the medical department.

Maxwell Hincke (PhD) is Head of the Division of Clinical and Functional Anatomy, in the Department of Innovation in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine,  University of Ottawa

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Professor Hincke says the importance of human donations cannot be underestimated, in terms of the training of the next generation of medical professionals, many of whom will serve in the community, while others will spread out across the country, and some will even serve in places around the world.

He notes the memorial service, held in an Ottawa cemetery,  is held annually to recognize the immeasurable contributions made by body donors to the advancement of medical education.

At the service, often relatives will speak in remembrance of their family members who were donors, along with comments by students who speak on the importance of such donations to their training and on a personal level.

As professor Hincke stresses, the bodies are always treated with the greatest respect and dignity from arrival to final interment at the University crypt, or in turning over the remains to the families.

Professor Hincke notes that donations are absolutely critical to the training of future doctors and medical specialists and says the process is relatively easy.

Those thinking of such a procedure after death can contact any university medical faculty where they are able to guide people easily through the process and forms.

Body donation is governed in the province through the Trillium Gift of Life Act, and other provinces have their own, albeit similar, procedures