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Commentary
Use of cadavers to train surgeons: what are the ethical issues? — body donor perspective
  1. Tracy A Walker1,
  2. Hannah K James2,3
  1. 1 Anatomy Administrator & Registered body donor, School of Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK
  2. 2 Clinical Trials Unit, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
  3. 3 Department of Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Coventry, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Hannah K James; h.smith.1{at}warwick.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105998

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    In my professional role as anatomy administrator and bequeathal secretary at a large surgical training centre, I am the first point of contact both for people wishing to donate their body, and for newly bereaved relatives telling us that their registered loved-one has died. I am involved in every stage of the process from that first phone call, through to eventual funeral service, cremation of the body and return of the ashes to the family. I am also a registered body donor myself, as I strongly believe in the value of cadaveric training having seen it first hand.

    When prospective donors and relatives find out that I am also a registered body donor they find this to be very reassuring to know that having ‘behind the scenes’ access has not put me off, and is a good endorsement for the process, …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @hannah_ortho

    • Contributors This piece was written by a prospective body donor (TAW). HKJ provided academic support and wrote the introductory piece for the commentary.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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