Enriching Lives after Death
Author(s): Tanishq Kapse and Anupama Sawal*
Abstract
After death, there are mainly 3 possibilities for the body; either it will be cremated or it will be donated and the third being left unattended. As far as donation is concerned it can be donation of organs in that case the organs are donated and then the body will be cremated the other type of donation is that the whole body is donated. These bodies are then used for various research purposes as well as to educate students. These cadavers are referred as “first patients” of students of health sciences, for medical students’ cadaver is a resource which is irreplaceable as it not only helps them learn details about human body but also exposes them to various emotions as well as to sufferings of patients to some extent. However, the donation of organs as well as donation of body is not a common practice in Indian society, around 34 people among 100 million people donate their organs, as far as body donation is concerned majority of institution suffer from scarcity of bodies for education purpose. In India, the average student to cadaver ratio is around 20:1 which is almost half of ideal ratio which is 10:1. Some concerns regarding the policy which prohibits the identity of cadaver from being revealed to students is there, which is that in cases of donated body’s weather the identity should be disclosed or not. These concerns are one of many ethical dilemmas that surround the topic of body donation whereas the ethical dilemma related to organ donation is also in abundance.