Description: This set of slides explores the use of registered anatomical body donors - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Description:This set of slides explores the use of registered anatomical body donors who die from murder or suicide. Areas of ethical discussion around the use of these bodies in an educational setting are highlighted.The topics covered by this resource include:Ethical perspectivesEducational experiences, objectives, and outcomesPublic perceptionFurther reading:Wainman BC, Cornwall J. Body Donation After Medically Assisted Death: An Emerging Consideration for Donor Programs. Anat Sci Edu 12(4):417-424,2019. Rajagopal AS, Champney T. Teaching Without Harm: The Ethics of Performing Posthumous Procedures on the Newly Deceased. Cureus 12(12): e11855. DOI 10.7759/cureus.11855 Bioethics in Anatomy Education Resources: The Use of Registered Body Donors who Die by Suicide or MurderCreator(s): Sylvia English, Jon Cornwall, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Contact details: jon.cornwall@otago.ac.nz

2. Since the middle of the twentieth century, body donation programs around the world have focused on the use of donated bodies for the teaching of anatomy. Many programs use the bodies of persons who registered as body donors before their death, although some programs allow family members to donate the bodies of their deceased loved ones. The majority of donated bodies are from registered body donors who die from natural causes and medical conditions, including cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases. But what about registered body donors who die as a result of murder or suicide? Should their bodies be accepted by body donor programs?Body Donation Programs: Whose Bodies are Used?https://educationalbodydonation.org/Acceptance of a registered body donor who was murdered or who committed suicide is an exceedingly rare occurrence. This is because the vast majority of these individuals are autopsied, and therefore they would not be suitable for anatomical education and would not be accepted by donor programs.

3. One argument for accepting these donors includes preparing future physicians for something they may later experience in practice. What could be learned from exposing students to donors who died by murder or suicide in the anatomy laboratory?Under what circumstances might it be useful (or harmful) for students to be exposed to donors who died from murder or suicide? Is this dependent on the age or experience level of the students?What impact would acceptance of these bodies have on staff or students? What makes these impacts acceptable or unacceptable? For instance, would the possibility of psychological trauma outweigh any potential benefits from using these bodies? There are several perspectives that can be considered in deciding whether to use donors from suicide or murder, such as the following:https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/Use of Bodies from Donors who Die by Murder or Suicide

4. There are practical as well as ethical perspectives around the acceptance of bodies, and sometimes these are not easily disentangled.http://meritcd.com/blogs/improve-your-decision-making/How do the ethical viewpoints of the body donors, body donor program, students, and community influence the various positions on this question? Which of these perspectives influences the “benefit or harm” position of programs accepting donors who died by murder or suicide? Would donor programs accepting fully consented donors who died of suicide or murder pass the “newspaper headline” test? For example, an altruistic donor who previously registered as a body donor and then committed suicide or was murdered: would use of that donor by a donor program be acceptable to the general public? Should that be a factor that is considered, and why?Is there a difference between accepting a registered donor from a medically assisted death, and one from a donor who commits suicide? Why is this different or the same?Use of Bodies from Donors who Die by Murder or Suicide

5. Other factors also need to be considered; issues surrounding autonomy and the importance of fulfilling donors’ wishes, and the practical elements surrounding implementing these processes.https://www.blackroseacoustic.org/How important is it to fulfill the wishes of the donors, regardless of how they die? In what circumstances should their wishes be fulfilled and when would they not be fulfilled?Body donor programs have criteria for acceptance of donors. For example, organ donors or those involved in a traumatic injury are not accepted due to the inability to use them for anatomical education. There can also be weight limits imposed due to the practical nature of moving and storing these donors. What other criteria could be used to make decisions around which bodies are accepted by a program? Should the manner of death be a consideration?Use of Bodies from Donors who Die by Murder or Suicide