“Cadavers with a Soul”: A Qualitative Study of Individuals Who Donate Their Body

Abstract

Aim: The study was conducted to determine the thoughts of individuals who donate their body. Material and Methods: This study was qualitative research conducted using the case study design. The sample was determined with the purposeful sampling method and 9 individuals who stated that they would donate their body were interviewed. The data were collected between March and April 2022 with an information form and a semi-structured interview form and analyzed with the content analysis method. Results: The mean age of individuals was 67.11±4.10 years. Five of the participants were male and four were female. Eight out of nine people were married, all were university graduates and retired, and eight had good income level. Two main themes and five sub-themes were revealed in the research. The themes were determined to be support (contribution to health education, chain of immortality) and obstacles (pressure from family and religion, awareness, uncertainty). Conclusion: Individuals want to donate their bodies to contribute to health education by leaving a legacy for science and think they will be immortal by offering their cadaver for science. Additionally, they feel pressure due to families and religious beliefs and think that society is ignorant about body donation and that the functionality of the body donation system is inadequate.