Published: March 31, 2008 10:44 pm      

Cadavers regarded as gifts

“Speak only good of the dead.”

The ancient philosopher’s advice frames the major code of conduct for students working in anatomy labs where human cadavers are used.

“Someone won’t last long in this program if they are caught showing any kind of disrespect for the cadavers we use,” said Dave Chafin, coordinator of science and cadaver labs at Mountain State University in Beckley.

Students are told from day one they are to treat the cadavers as human gifts, said Dr. William Martin, adjunct professor of anatomy at MSU.

“One thing we emphasize from the beginning of the course is that these were once somebody’s mother, father, grandmother, aunt or uncle or child,” Martin said. “We have to remember that all the time and continuously realize the significance of the donation they have made.”

Working together in an anatomy lab teaches students a great deal about cooperation, he said.

“The students learn to work together and help one another. Realizing the cadaver is a person and not merely a science specimen helps them focus on the dignity and respect they have for one another,” Martin said.

Students must carefully observe the rules of how the bodies are to be cared for and covered throughout the year. In addition, they must speak respectfully about the cadavers at all times, Chafin said.

“Almost the same rules apply to cadavers as a patient in a hospital. The students can’t be joking around about the cadavers in the lab, and if they’re caught in a restaurant somewhere speaking disrespectfully about them, they will be sharply reprimanded,” Chafin said. “The cadavers have to be treated with the utmost respect at all times.”

Both professors stress the value of using cadavers.

“I tell my students these are the best professors they will ever have,” Chafin said. “They will learn a lot of things they cannot learn in a classroom.”

MSU receives anywhere from eight to 12 cadavers each year through the West Virginia Human Gift Registry. Strict federal laws prohibit the sale of human bodies or body parts. All of the cadavers used have come from donors.

Martin and Chafin are not allowed to reveal the identities of any of the cadavers.

At the end of the school year, the cadavers are cremated and returned to the Registry. Sometimes, families request the cremains be returned to them. Others prefer the cremains be interred in a special place in mausoleums at West Virginia University or Marshall. Some are interred in a designated spot in a cemetery on the grounds of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg.

A plaque with the person’s name and a note of appreciation is included at the final resting place.

Anyone interested in becoming a donor in West Virginia can e-mail humangiftregistry@hsc.wvu.edu for more information.

A listing of body donation programs within the United States is available at www.med.ufl.edu /anatbd/usprograms.

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— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com