The altruistic act of body donation provides a precious resource for both teaching and researching human anatomy. However, relatively little is known about individuals who donate their bodies to science (donors), and in particular whether donors in different geographical locations share similar characteristics. A multicenter prospective survey of donors registering during 2010 in three different geographical locations, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Republic of South Africa, was conducted to identify donor characteristics. The 28-question survey included sections on body donation program awareness, reasons for donating, giving tendency, education, ethnicity, relationship status, occupation, religion, and political preference. Two hundred surveys (81%) were returned [New Zealand 123 (85% response rate), Republic of South Africa 41 (67%), and Ireland 36 (92%)]. Results indicate that donors share certain characteristics including reason for donating (80% cited a desire to aid medical science as the main reason for wishing to donate their body); family structure (most donors are or have been in long-term partnerships and ≥ 85% have siblings); and a higher proportion with no religious affiliation compared to their reference population. Some variations between locations were noted including donor age, the mode of program awareness, occupation, relationship status, political preference, organ donor status and with whom donors had discussed their decision to donate. This information could be important for assisting the identification of potential body donors in new and established bequest programs.

Managing a whole body donor program is necessary for facilitating a traditional dissection-based anatomy curriculum in medicine and health sciences. Factors which influence body donations to medical science can therefore affect dissection-based anatomy teaching. In order to determine whether age influences the attitudes of medical students to donations, this study surveyed, by Likert-type questionnaires, first-year graduate-entry medical students attending a dissection-based anatomy course. In contrast to attitudes among younger traditional-entry medical students, initial support for whole body donation by an unrelated stranger (83.8%), a family member (43.2%) or by the respondent (40.5%) did not decrease among graduate-entry medical students after exposure to dissection although there was a significant shift in strength of support for donation by stranger. This suggests that older medical students do not readily modify their pre-established attitudes to the idea of whole body donation after exposure and experience with dissection. Initial ambivalence among respondents to the idea of donation by family member was followed by opposition to this type of donation. These findings demonstrate that age modulates the influences on a priori attitudes to whole body donation that exposure to dissection causes in younger medical students.

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Traditionally anatomy teaching has involved both learning from cadaveric dissection and formal lectures. The aim of our project was to introduce another dimension to students’ experiences of learning anatomy through the medium of radiology.This project presents donor specific radiographic profiles of University College Dublin's cadavers for educational purposes. An interactive viewing platform Xperience was developed to vividly display these non‐generic images. Comprehensive donor profiles were created by adding medical histories and consultant radiologists’ reports. These self‐guided image‐based clinical cases enhance anatomical learning and offer early introduction of clinical radiography. X‐perience complements the dissection process by reinforcing the concept of the donor as the student's first patient.Full skeletal radiographs were obtained from 13 donors (10 Female, 3 Male) aged 58–101 years. Radiographic images were produced digitally, labelled and stored using unique identifiers. These images were systemically labelled for normal and pathological findings and integrated with known medical history. Articulate Storyline 2 was used to build X‐perience, a HTML5 interactive interface. To assess the value of X‐perience Stage 3 Locomotor Biology students were surveyed. This cohort (n=50) had prior traditional anatomical teaching and could compare anatomical learning with and without X‐perience.The workflow of profiling cadavers and constructing X‐perience proved successful. X‐perience is currently used by students during Dissecting Room practical classes and can be revisited via Blackboard, an online learning management system. Results of student acceptability survey, Kirkpatrick Level‐1, are extremely positive. 84% of students agree that X‐perience is relevant, easy to use and provides an integrated view of the human body. 88% appreciated the clinical relevance that X‐perience offers. 92% of students acknowledged that they now had a greater understanding of the importance of radiology.The introduction of similar viewing platforms in other medical schools is recommended. Imaging modalities such as CT and/or histology could further refine X‐perience.In addition to its educational value, X‐perience strengthens the body donation program, highlighting the individuality and dignity of each donor and generating enthusiasm amongst students.