BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — College officials faced with a surplus of donated bodies for medical research and education hope state lawmakers approve a bill that would permit them to ship cadavers out of state to other research centers.
Under current state law, Indiana can receive donated bodies from other states, but the state's colleges can't ship donated cadavers out of state.
"There are years when we have cadavers we do not have a need for here, but other states do need them," said David Burr, chairman of the Indiana Anatomical Education Board. "It would be beneficial to other states."
The Indiana Anatomical Education Board, which is run by the Indiana University Medical School, registers donors, collects bodies and arranges for the cadavers to be used by medical students in training at colleges and universities across the state.
Indiana had been averaging about 150 donated bodies annually, but in recent years that number has gone up to about 225 a year, Burr said. More people tend to donate their bodies to science when the economy is bad because there are no funeral expenses involved, he said.
Bill sponsor Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said there is broad support for the cadaver proposal, but other aspects of the bill may be a problem. Lawmakers from the House and Senate are trying to reach a compromise on the proposal before the legislative session ends April 29.
Medical programs use cadavers to train future doctors, dentists and even physical therapists. Students at the IU medical school on Purdue University's campus use donated bodies in undergraduate and graduate courses.
"I look at it as crucial education," said Jim Walker, a professor of anatomy in Purdue's Basic Medical Sciences program. "They're going to be working on human beings, so they should be practicing on them."
Gordon Coppoc, director and assistant dean of the IU School of Medicine-Lafayette, said working on a human cadaver is a rite of passage for medical students.
"We treat the cadaver with tremendous respect," he said. "We make sure the students understand these people have donated their bodies to further education."
Donated bodies are cremated after use, with the remains either returned to families or buried. If the law is changed and bodies could be sent out of state, they would be returned to Indiana after use and treated the same way.
