Students give thanks for donors’ essential gift

Anatomical Gift Program’s memorial service honors donors who give their bodies to science

The School of Medicine’s Class of 2015 will hold a memorial service to honor donors to the Anatomical Gift Program and their families on Saturday, May 5, at the Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center on the Shrewsbury Campus. The service begins at 11 a.m. in the amphitheater and is immediately followed by a reception. For information, call Dianne Person at 508-856-2460.

Each year, when new medical students arrive on campus to begin their long journey to becoming physicians, one of their first experiences with human patients is in the anatomy lab during their first few days of classes. There, each student is introduced to a special, essential gift—a donor who has given his or her body to science. As a way of expressing their gratitude for the incredible gift they’ve been given, the students participate in a memorial service at the end of each year to meet the families and friends of their human donors and thank them for their sacrifice.

The video below from 2011 captures the essence of the memorial service.