From Cadaver Procurement to Body Donation: Changes in the Sydney Medical School 1926-61

Abstract

Abstract: In the mid-twentieth century, the body procurement program at the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney transitioned from a reliance on unclaimed bodies to the use of consenting donors. Securing an adequate supply of bodies for teaching was a persistent challenge for the medical school prior to this period. It was not until the medical school launched an unexpectedly well-received public appeal for consenting donors in 1949 that the supply consistently increased. Within a decade, consenting donors dominated the medical school's supply of bodies. An examination of archival documents suggests long-term structural supply issues and significant changes in public perception of anatomy resulted in this systemic change in the medical school's procurement practices.