Bodies that teach: ethical challenges of donation for medical education

Abstract

Descriptive, cross-sectional study analyzing the cycle of the body donated for medical education, from procurement to final disposition, in four units affiliated with three institutions in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, through a structured 32-item questionnaire administered to those responsible for the anatomy departments. Most directed donations were concentrated in the only institution that informs the public about donation, which received six of its seven bodies through this route, although it also declares that its structural capacity is exhausted. No unit offers continuing education to its staff, and inadequate preservation compromises donated bodies. The loss of the link between old specimens and their bodies of origin makes final disposition unfeasible and prevents the commemoration that professionals themselves wish to hold. The challenges identified stem not from negligence, but from the absence of record-keeping, budgetary provision and effective state coordination, without which the commitment made to the donor is not fulfilled.