Professors uneasy about plan to share med school cadavers

The Korean government's plan to allow the transfer of donated cadavers between medical schools to cope with shortages and enhance the quality of education as it prepares for the first hike in medical school admissions in 27 years is facing ethical concerns.

The Education Ministry on Tuesday said the government would push to make amendments to the law that would allow medical schools that are short of donated cadavers to receive them from other medical institutions if the donor or the bereaved family has consented to it. The plan drew instant criticism from the medical sector.

"The transfer of cadavers goes against the donor's original intent, as well as an issue of lack of trust and transparency because currently, a donor designates the institution they would be donating their bodies usually in appreciation of the medical care they have received, not to be a replacement to cover up the shortfall," Lee Ju-yul, a professor at the Department of Health Administration at Namseoul University, told The Korea Herald.

Currently, the process of providing cadavers for educational and research purposes in medicine is regulated by the Act on Dissection and Preservation of Corpses.

Under the Act, those who wish to donate their bodies for medical use must convey their consent before they die and choose a medical institution to receive their bodies. Similarly, medical schools in the US, for example, have their own body donation programs where the cadavers are used within that institution.

Professor Choi Yong-soo at Samsung Medical Center's Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery echoed that the government arbitrarily changing the donor's wish was "unreasonable."

"Not heeding to the donor's wish, especially in cases where the donor has already died or when the deceased person's body is being placed in storage, sounds inappropriate," the professor, who also heads the emergency committee of medical professors at Sungkyunkwan University, pointed out.

"I understand that the government is trying to address the disparities in the availability of cadavers between medical schools as a follow-up measure of the expansion plan. But the scheme could discourage cadaver donations if donors find out their bodies will be used elsewhere after they die to make up for the shortage," he noted.

According to data released by Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea on the number of cadaveric resources in August, 38 medical schools had 1,823 cadavers this year for educational purposes. The Catholic University of Korea had the most of 453, while Ajou University, which will have 70 more medical students next year from the current 40, only had 41.

A senior official at the Health Ministry told The Korea Herald that the change aims to improve the education environment, noting that the ministry took cues from institutions in the US that received body donations and provided them to medical schools that needed them for educational purposes.

"For example, there's an association called Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois in Chicago where eight medical schools within the state make up the association, and the group procures, prepares and preserves donations for medical studies," the official explained.

A similar idea was first floated by Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo in late March when he said during a briefing that the government would consider importing cadavers or sharing them between medical schools in case of a shortage following the drastic quota hike.