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Unsure of cadavers’ identities, GW medical school stops accepting bodies Unsure of cadavers’ identities, GW medical school stops accepting bodies
(about 1 hour later)
George Washington University has stopped accepting donated bodies at its medical school because the school cannot figure out the identities of some of the cadavers it already has. George Washington University has stopped accepting donated bodies at its medical school because the school cannot figure out the identities of as many as 50 cadavers that it already has.
Medical schools have long relied on donated cadavers as a key means of instruction about the human body. But in the fall, officials at GW realized that they were having trouble keeping proper tabs on them, medical school dean Jeffrey S. Akman said in a statement on Friday. Medical schools have long relied on donated cadavers as a key means of instruction about the human body. But in the fall, officials at GW realized that they were having trouble keeping proper tabs on them, medical school dean Jeffrey S. Akman said in a statement Friday.
[Cadavers provide an intimate education, as medical students’ first patients] [Cadavers provide an intimate education as medical students’ first patients]
Akman said that the school conducted a review of its willed body donor program and decided to stop accepting donations of bodies. Akman said that the school conducted a review of its willed body donor program and decided to stop accepting donations of bodies, since it cannot identify some of the bodies currently in use in its classrooms.
He said that the school cannot identify some of the cadavers, though he did not say how many. The school is contacting families of about 50 deceased people whose bodies were involved in the troubled program, spokeswoman Anne C. Banner said in an email to The Washington Post on Friday afternoon.
Some families ask to have a relative’s ashes returned after medical students are finished studying the person’s corpse. Akman said that the confusion about the corpses has made that impossible, and the school is contacting all the families of donors that may be affected. Some families ask to have a relative’s ashes returned after medical students are finished studying the person’s corpse. Akman said that the confusion about the corpses has made that impossible, though Banner added that the school is working with an outside laboratory which might be able to test the corpses’ DNA if families provide DNA samples.
“As the dean and as a former medical student whose education benefitted greatly from the altruism of a body donor, I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to all of the affected families and the entire [School of Medicine and Health Sciences] community,” the statement said. Akman’s statement said, “As the dean and as a former medical student whose education benefitted greatly from the altruism of a body donor, I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to all of the affected families and the entire [School of Medicine and Health Sciences] community.”
[George Washington was the nation’s only med school on probation in 2008][George Washington was the nation’s only med school on probation in 2008]
Akman said that the education of current students will not be affected, because the school has enough bodies on hand for its anatomy courses from earlier donations and “other sources.” Akman and Banner said that the education of current students will not be affected, because the school has enough bodies on hand for its anatomy courses, including both earlier donations and loaned bodies from other institutions.
He also said that the person who ran the program “is no longer employed by the university.” Banner said the school uses 30 to 40 bodies at a time in its classes. Each one can usually be used for two years of study and sometimes for as long as five years.
Officials at the university did not immediately respond to several questions from The Washington Post. She said she did not anticipate that the donation program would resume.
The person who ran the program “is no longer employed by the university,” Akman wrote.
Banner declined to provide further details about the person responsible for the program.
She wrote, “From the outset of the review, it was clear that the program did not adhere to the highest ethical standards that the School of Medicine requires of its faculty, staff and students, and in all of its programs. The review revealed a lack of appropriate oversight of the program and that the program’s operating procedures were inconsistently followed.”
On its website, the medical school recommends that D.C.-area residents who wish to donate their bodies to scientific research consider Georgetown or Howard universities instead, or consider donating their tissues for transplantation to living patients.On its website, the medical school recommends that D.C.-area residents who wish to donate their bodies to scientific research consider Georgetown or Howard universities instead, or consider donating their tissues for transplantation to living patients.
Read more:Read more:
The problems behind George Washington medical school’s probation in 2008The problems behind George Washington medical school’s probation in 2008
An organ shortage kills 30 Americans every day. Is it time to pay donors?An organ shortage kills 30 Americans every day. Is it time to pay donors?
For one family, organ donation offers a bittersweet endingFor one family, organ donation offers a bittersweet ending