Students honor body donors with memorial Friday

Augusta University students will honor individuals who have donated their body to the education of future doctors, dentists, nurses and allied health professionals at the annual Body Donation Memorial Service at 1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 4, in the Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium.

The memorial includes students and faculty perspectives on donors’ impact on health care education, along with musical selections and poems performed by students. After the service, participants are invited to visit the cinerarium on campus, where ashes of donors can be interred.

“Each new generation of students studies the human body to better understand it, its function and the effects of disease. This knowledge is an important part of educating students to treat and prevent illness,” said David Adams, coordinator of Anatomical Donation Services. “With their gift, donors make a lasting contribution to medical science and health care.”

Donors are needed for medical, dental and allied health sciences education. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act requires donors to be at least 18, but there is no upper age limit. Infectious disease can preclude donation, as can serious trauma with multiple organ damage. However, donors who have had common surgeries such as hysterectomies or hip replacements are welcomed.

Augusta University’s Anatomical Donation Program provides transportation to the university, embalming and cremation. Ashes can be returned to the family or interred in the cinerarium. For more information about body donation, contact Adams at 706-721-3731 or visit augusta.edu/mcg/cba/bodydonation.