Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico |
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| Authors: | Alejandro Quiroga‐Garza Cynthia Guadalupe Reyes‐Hernández Pablo Patricio Zarate‐Garza Claudia Nallely Esparza‐Hernández Jorge Gutierrez‐de la O David de la Fuente‐Villarreal Rodrigo Enrique Elizondo‐Omaña Santos Guzman‐Lopez |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico;2. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross‐sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first‐year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589–597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists. |
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| Keywords: | gross anatomy education medical education body donation bequest programs organ donation cadaver dissection students and faculty attitude teaching methods |
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