Comedy show fallout: Karnataka to issue norms on handling cadavers

To treat the living, doctors need to learn from the dead. Every year, thousands of medical students across India run their scalpels through tissues and organs, getting a first-hand understanding of human anatomy. That is how the dead become their first teachers, and also their first patients. Not just medical students, even trained surgeons try out novel, life-saving surgical procedures on cadavers.

I know there's a critical shortage of cadavers not just in India, but across the world. While there has been a rise in donors, one wrong message can wipe out gains made over decades. So, when Sejal Pawar, a third-year medical student, cracked a joke on cadavers at comedian Pranit More's show, infuriating most people, I thought of doing what journalists do — dive deep into the issue.

If you read on, you will find out how cadavers are received, preserved, used and disposed of in medical colleges in India. They do vary from state to state, and from one institution to another. But what doesn't change is the respect that doctors are taught to have for body donors.

All medical students in India in the first year of their MBBS course take the Cadaveric Oath, which honours the sacrifice of the donor and their family, while pledging to "show due respect and gratitude to this cadaver who will always remain our first teacher".

With over 800 medical colleges with close to 1.30 lakh MBBS seats, India tops the world in the number of such institutions. The increase in the number of medical colleges across the country has given rise to a demand for cadavers, which are essential for MBBS students.

The sight of a corpse or severed body parts can be unnerving. Then there is the nauseating stench of chemicals, especially of formalin. Students are in their teens still, and some faint in the dissection rooms. Disease, difficult deaths and cadavers aren't easy to deal with at a young age, and might give birth to gallows humour. But everyone is mindful of the big sacrifice of the person lying on the table of the dissection room.

No one might know that more than Dr SB Ray, Professor and head of the department of anatomy at AIIMS New Delhi. He is also in-charge of the body donation programme at AIIMS, India's foremost government hospital.

"I see them walking into my office, telling me they want to donate their bodies so that students can learn and serve people better. Then I see their bodies being brought in by relatives," Dr Ray told India Today Digital.

CADAVERIC OATH AND RESPECT FOR THE DEAD AT MEDICAL COLLEGES

Anatomy is one of the foundational subjects of the MBBS course. Study of medicine would remain just theory if not for the cadavers. The gap in theory and practice would ultimately go on to impact clinical practice and patient care.

A shortage of donated bodies, at times in India, makes around 50 students peer over a single cadaver. In an ideal situation, a group of 5-10 students should get a cadaver each.

While AIIMS New Delhi gets around 50 to 60 donated bodies a year, scores of medical colleges in India might receive two to three cadavers a year at best. Though there is no statewise data readily available in public, media reports from different years suggest an acute shortage of cadavers at medical colleges.

Medical colleges prefer donated bodies over unclaimed cadavers. Most unclaimed bodies undergo autopsy, and the cuts make the preservative chemicals drain out. Also, the health profile and medical history of donors are known, making them ideal for research.

The concept of an afterlife, social and religious beliefs make body donation rare across the world.

"Doctors and students are very mindful that someone had donated their body for us to learn. Body donation is considered one of the highest forms of donation," said Dr Anuj Tiwari, internal medicine specialist and geriatrician, at HBT Medical College and Dr RN Cooper Hospital in Mumbai.

Dr Ray, who has been involved in anatomical studies for over four decades, said a Cadaveric Oath is administered to all students across India. "The wording might vary a little, but the essence of the oath is to respect the donor for the gift of knowledge," he explained.

"For a person training to be a doctor, the cadaver isn't just the first teacher, it is the first patient too," he added.

An assistant professor of anatomy from a government medical college in Assam, who requested anonymity, said that respect for cadavers is emphasised in orientation classes for new medical students. "There is also a compulsory question on respect to cadavers in the first year's MBBS paper in Assam," he said.

So, we know that the medical fraternity receives bodies with respect and gratitude. But what about the send-off after they have been dissected over years? That's where improvements and a model draft law are needed, and we will get to it at the end after discussing how bodies are preserved and used in medical colleges in India.

HOW ARE CADAVERS PROCESSED FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS?

Bodies for medical studies h…