Consent and consensus-ethical perspectives on obtaining bodies for anatomical dissection

• Published in: Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 70 - 77
• Main Author: Winkelmann, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Anatomy - education; Anatomy - ethics; Autonomy; body donation; Cadaver; Cadavers; Consensus; Dissection; Dissection - education; ethical theories; Ethics; Human Body; human dignity; Humans; Informed consent; Informed Consent - ethics; presumed consent; consensus; human dignity; body donation; informed consent; ethical theories; presumed consent
• ISSN: 0897-3806; 1098-2353; 1098-2353
• DOI: 10.1002/ca.22651

Biomedical research and education benefit from the use of human cadavers. These are usually acquired from donors who have willed their body to science during their lifetime. This concept of donation through “informed consent” respects the personal autonomy of the donor and the dignity of the dead body (extended from the dignity of the living person). The concept of informed consent is taken from research on living human subjects regulated in the Helsinki Declaration. This transfer to the domain of anatomical donation, however, has several problems. For example, the dead cannot speak for themselves and the ethical status of the human cadaver remains ambiguous. It is therefore suggested that an element of consensus is added to the concept of consent, a consensus between donors, relatives, anatomists, and the wider community. A consensus can give difficult decisions surrounding body donation and dissection a broader basis and can help bridge the gap between donors and families on the one side and anatomists, researchers and students on the other side. This approach can help to establish relationships of trust with local communities, on which body donation programs depend. Clin. Anat. 29:70–77, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.