Donating Body To Science

Loved ones honor contributions of body donors at service

SYKESVILLE - Claire Cohagan's father had always thought that burying a body was a waste when it could instead be donated to advance science and medical fields.

"He felt that his body was a gift for him to use while he was on Earth," Cohagan said of her father, James Middleton, who died in September. "But he knew when he was gone, his body could continue to be a gift for others."

Cohagan, of Catonsville, was on hand Monday at the Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville to honor and celebrate her father and other people who donated their bodies to be used for education and medical research in Maryland.

Families and loved ones of those who donated their bodies, as well as medical students and professors who have benefited from the donated bodies, gathered during the annual interdenominational service, which honored the cremated remains of more than 600 people. The service, which has been held for nearly 40 years, was coordinated by the Maryland State Anatomy Board and Springfield Hospital Center's Office of Volunteer Services to honor donated and unclaimed bodies.

Ronn Wade, director of the state anatomy board, said donated bodies are vital to the education of future doctors, physical therapists, paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

"This is a time for the state to give gratitude and offer respect for those who have donated their bodies to educate our future medical personnel," Wade said. "Without them, we'd all be at a greater risk, so we owe them a lot."

Wade said the board receives about 1,800 donors a year and that there are about 70,000 people on file who have committed to donating their bodies once they die.

Rebecca Holsinger, a physical therapy student at University of Maryland at Baltimore, said she came to the ceremony out of respect for those people who donated their bodies, which she said are an unmatched educational tool.

"Being able to see the muscles and the movement of muscles is such an important part of our education," Holsinger said. "What we learn by having these bodies makes up the basis of our profession, so we are just so grateful for the opportunity they have provided us."

The Rev. Edward Richardson, chaplain for the hospital center, told the crowd that although he didn't personally know those who have donated their bodies, he knows they were all altruistic people who cared about future generations.

"These were people who were concerned about the well-being of others both in life and after their death," Richardson said.

5 questions about donating your body to science | PennLive.com

NAME: Michelle D. Lazarus
TITLE: Assistant professor in the Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and institutional representative for the Humanity Gifts Registry of Pennsylvania
COMPANY: Penn State College of Medicine
YEARS IN FIELD: 10

Q: Are there criteria for donating a body to a medical school? For instance, is there an age limit?

A: Donations are welcomed to be pursued from all those willing to gift their bodies for educational and teaching purposes through the Humanity Gifts Registry (HGR) , the nonprofit agency of Pennsylvania concerned primarily with the receipt and distribution of bodies donated to all medical and dental schools in the state.

There are very limited circumstances in which a body is rejected for donation to a medical school by the Humanity Gifts Registry. These special instances include bodies of persons dying from highly communicable diseases and/or crushing injuries. Individuals whose remains are autopsied, decomposed, embalmed, obese or who have had recent extensive surgery prior to death may also be denied. Age, however, is not a factor in determining donation status. 

Q: How long do studies on the body take, and what happens to the body afterward?

A: Studies on the bodies that are donated for medical education and research can take up to two years (or longer in some cases) to be completed. Medical schools, like Penn State College of Medicine, design curriculum and educational initiatives to ensure that each body donated significantly impacts the learning of its students. This dedication and commitment to both the gifted body, as well as the education resulting from the bequest, impacts the study time devoted to a particular body donation.

Upon completion of the studies, the donation remains are cremated and the ashes interred in one of the HGR established cemeteries; either in Philadelphia, Hershey or Pittsburgh. At Penn State College of Medicine, we have a medical student-led memorial ceremony each year at the Hershey Cemetery to honor each of the donors who gifted their bodies to further medical education.

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