Companion Animal Cadaver Donation for Teaching Purposes at Veterinary Medicine Colleges: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Abstract

Veterinary training programs rely on animal cadavers for a variety of important educational activities, yet ethical sourcing can present considerable challenges. Public sentiment has rendered traditional sources (e.g., euthanized shelter animals or purpose-bred animals) increasingly tenuous throughout the United States, leaving many schools to search for alternatives. One such alternative is to establish a cadaver donation program, with a handful of institutions implementing such programs in recent years. Still, there have been few to no studies evaluating the factors that influence pet owners’ decisions about whether to participate that could inform the establishment of such programs to date. In the present study, a nationally (United States) representative sample of current and potential dog and cat owners was asked to complete a survey capturing various demographic factors as well as their existing attitudes toward both veterinary medicine and veterinary education in addition to selecting among hypothetical cadaver donation programs with varying attribute levels in a blocked, orthogonal, fractional factorial discrete choice experiment to determine the characteristics that correlate with higher participation rates. Although initial interest was strong, our results suggest that younger pet owners, individuals with more formal education, and individuals with positive relationships with their current veterinarian are most likely to participate in a donation program. Concerningly, however, dog owners were somewhat less likely than other respondents to participate. The return of pet ashes was the most important attribute to respondents, suggesting that cadaver donation administrators should consider inclusion of this service to maximize participation.