Medical Students Remember Those Who Give Themselves to Science

Medical students at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) will pay their last respects to those who have donated their bodies to scientific study at a memorial service for the Total Willed Body Donor program at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, in the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium, corner of 19th Street South and 7th Avenue South, on UAB’s campus. The service is hosted by the members of the Class of 2006 of the School of Medicine.

February 5, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Medical students at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) will pay their last respects to those who have donated their bodies to scientific study at a memorial service for the Total Willed Body Donor program at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, in the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium, corner of 19th Street South and 7th Avenue South, on UAB’s campus. The service is hosted by the members of the Class of 2006 of the School of Medicine.

“Students in the medical school began the tradition of inviting family members of our anatomical donors to an annual memorial service five years ago,” says organizer Lisa Bundy, a first-year medical student. “It gives us a chance to extend our appreciation to the families of the donors for their gift.”

More than 150 family and relatives of donors are expected to attend the service, along with students and faculty of the School of Medicine. The program is conducted by first-year medical students and Michael Casey, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and the director of the Anatomical Donor Program.

“The Class of 2006 has prepared a service that is uplifting, yet reverent,” says Bundy. “It gives the medical students a chance to share their feelings about the anatomy experience and it gives all participants a sense of closure.”

The Total Willed Body Donor program receives about 100 bodies each year for study at the medical school. For more information on the program, call (205) 934-4494.