Cadaver donations on the rise in region

“The way people are going about donating bodies now show a huge change in their mindset,” says the head of the Department of Anatomy,PGI,Dr Daisy Sawhney,adding: “Every day,two to three people,mostly the elderly,turn up at the department to pledge their bodies. In the last one year,as many as 430 people have pledged their bodies for research purposes.”

According to doctors at the PGI,the reason for change in the mindset of people towards body donation is largely due to the increasing awareness,especially by well-known people.

“This year,the bodies of renowned Punjabi writer Santokh Singh Dhir,who was awarded Sahitya Academy Award,and Jakarta Asian Games gold medallist Ajmer Singh were donated to the PGI for research purposes. The people coming forward for body donation belong to all strata of the society. Among the donors were five women last year,” said Dr Sawhney.

“The awareness levels have gone up and people are now realising the importance of cadavers for research,” says a faculty member,adding: “There were many myths attached to body donations and we are trying to dispel them,which has started to showing results.”

Cadaver dissection is an integral part of the curriculum of medical training and a student learns topographic localisation of tissues of the body.

The doctor adds: “Surgeons also require cadavers to update their knowledge. Hence,there is a strong need further awareness among the masses about body donation after death.”