Your body: the ultimate gift to science....and UOW

Jul 19, 2006

People who donate their bodies for medical and scientific research make an invaluable contribution to the advancement of medical knowledge.

It is a unique gift that helps promote health and alleviate suffering in the community by helping in the training of doctors, nurses, medical scientists and other health professionals.

With the Graduate School of Medicine (GSM) on track to open next year, there will be an increased need for cadavers (human bodies) at the University of Wollongong's Anatomy Laboratory. The University has launched a Body Donation Program to supplement existing sources in the years ahead.

Meet two Science students from the Anatomy Laboratory, who explain just what this gift means to them.

Anna Harris is a young woman with her whole life ahead of her - yet she has already decided to donate her body to science.

The 3rd Year Bachelor of Medical Science student made the decision soon after starting her studies in the Anatomy Laboratory at the University of Wollongong.

It didn't take long for Anna to appreciate the importance of studying human bodies rather than plastic models to learn how the body works. She also developed a profound respect for the people who donate their bodies for medical and scientific research.

"I quickly realised just how valuable it is for students to be able to work on real human tissue and bones," Anna said. "It is the only way to really learn the inner workings of the human body. Health professionals need to know that every body is different but models just can't provide the variation and the same level of understanding.

"Cadavers are such a valuable learning resource. I told my parents I wanted to (eventually) donate my body to science as a way of giving something back."

Two years after her first encounter with a cadaver, Anna is an instructor in UOW's Anatomy Laboratory helping this year's 1st year Anatomy students overcome any squeamishness they might have about handling human tissue and appreciate the extraordinary gift that people who donate their bodies contribute to the learning process.

Anna and fellow Anatomy Laboratory instructor Nicole Cook, a 3rd year Bachelor of Advanced Science student, offered to talk to Campus News to encourage people to join the University of Wollongong's Body Donation Program.

Nicole said most students experienced an initial "scare factor" when dealing with human tissue for the first time, but that usually wore off quickly.

"Cadavers look quite different from a living human," Nicole said. "For a start there is no blood and you generally don't study a full body.

"Studying real human bones, muscles and organs is so much more valuable than studying plastic models. You see all the variations in size and shape, how muscles and organs differ between individuals, and the effects of things like fractures and diseases.

"You get a real clinical perspective on diseases like arthritis when you can study its effect on a knee joint."

Nicole vividly remembers studying a fibula (lower leg bone) that had been broken clean through. "There was a massive calcified lump, so the students could see clearly the effect of the break. You couldn't do that with a plastic model."

Nicole and Anna said Anatomy students treat cadavers and human tissue and bone with great respect.

"We understand that people have willingly chosen to donate their bodies to help us learn, and there is a great deal of respect for that gift," Nicole said.

Details on UOW's Body Donation Program are available on the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences website (www.uow.edu.au/health/) or by contacting program coordinator Darryl McAndrew on (02) 4221 4835.