Cadaver procurement for anatomy teaching: legislative challenges in a transition-related environment.
BACKGROUND
Human gross anatomy is one of the cornerstones of a medical curriculum and cannot be performed without adequate cadaver procurement, which is a particular challenge for medical schools with a large student enrolment. The authors present the situation in a country with a low public awareness for willed body donor programmes and the prior absence of adequate legislation.


OBJECTIVE
Against this background, a comprehensive proposition of a whole-body procurement procedure was elaborated in the health-care law. RESOLVING THE PROBLEM: The main goals of the proposition were: (a) identification of options for cadaver procurement (body bequeathal programme, unclaimed bodies and body donated with the permission of the next-of-kin); (b) defining the chain of order and responsibility of institutions in informing the medical school of the possible candidate for body procurement; (c) body storage and related procedures; (e) confidentiality of the deceased's personal data; (f) burial procedure of the deceased's remains.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors are convinced that the willed programme for whole-body donation is a definite aim of such a legislation. However, we suggest that the acquisition of unclaimed bodies is maintained as a temporary solution, until a satisfactory level of public awareness of the problem has been reached.
Stimec
Bojan V
BV
Institute for Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica 4/2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. bojan.stimec@unige.ch
Draskic
Marija
M
Fasel
Jean H D
JH
D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D002102:Cadaver; D006801:Humans; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*