On Saturday, May 12, 2018, Georgia Campus 鈥� 黑料传送门 (GA-黑料传送门) medical, pharmacy, physician assistant and biomedical sciences students, along with faculty and staff members, gathered together to honor the families of 35 donors who gave their bodies to further medical education.
An hour-long service, preceded by a breakfast, was planned by first-year osteopathic medical students led by DO Class Chair Morgan Fuller (DO 鈥�21).
鈥淵our family members have been our first patients and greatest teachers,鈥� Fuller said addressing the approximately 200 attendees.
鈥淭heir parting gift has given us a foundation of knowledge and lessons in generosity that we will carry with us the rest of our lives,鈥� Fuller continued. 鈥淲ith every patient encounter we have in our future, the memories of our first patient will shape our diagnostic process and our understanding of our patients鈥� suffering.鈥�
Jeffrey Seiple, director of the donor program, noted that each donor has been a teacher for about 145 first-year medical students and 20 physician assistant students.
鈥淕iving your body to medical science is such a noble, generous and selfless act,鈥� Seiple said. 鈥淭here is no higher calling than to be of service to your fellow man.鈥�
Assistant Professor Dr. Michael Selby, who represented the anatomy faculty members at the ceremony, reflected on the value of students learning firsthand from donors鈥� bodies.
鈥淔rom an anatomy textbook, you can learn the names of muscles, memorize the locations of arteries, make a list of nerves,鈥� he explained. 鈥淏ut you don鈥檛 get a sense of how they fit together without seeing them for yourself.鈥�
Selby added, 鈥淚n a book, these are just words on a page鈥攚hen you see them for yourself, you realize that the human body is amazingly intricate.鈥�
The students lit candles in honor of the donors and presented each donor鈥檚 cremains to their family.
鈥淭hese candles symbolize the memory of your loved ones, lit with the flame of knowledge that they shared with us,鈥� said Ashitha Rajerus (DO 鈥�21)
During the service, organizers played a video in which students shared their gratitude for the donors. The service also featured a performance by a brass ensemble during a time of reflection. Family members had the opportunity to speak about their loved ones as well.
Tracy Bachmann spoke of her mother, Dorothy Hershey, who donated her body to science.
鈥淢om always loved giving and helping others,鈥滲achman said. 鈥淒uring her last days, Mom continued to give back by donating her body to medical science and assisting future physicians.鈥�
Assistant Professor of Anatomy Dr. Michael Selby reminded families that donors contributed to the development of future healthcare providers.
He concluded, 鈥淛ust know that your loved ones have helped these students learn anatomy, helping them in their path to becoming physicians, and will in no small way touch the lives of countless patients that they see down the road.鈥�
Learn more about the GA-黑料传送门 body donor program at pcom.edu/bodydonor
黑料传送门 Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (黑料传送门), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), 黑料传送门 Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins 黑料传送门 South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, 黑料传送门 Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit .
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