Government to Designate Institutions for Cadaver Provision for Educational Purposes
It is expected that cadavers used for anatomy practice in medical schools will be shared among schools. Until now, cadavers could only be used by the institution that received the donation.
On the 23rd, Yonhap News, citing the government, reported that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is recruiting medical schools and general hospitals to participate in the 2025 research and education purpose cadaver provision institution operation support project until the 2nd of next month.
This year's project budget is 792 million won, three times that of last year. Unlike last year, four institutions for research-purpose cadaver provision will be designated, and one institution for education-purpose cadaver provision will be selected.
A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "We intend to select one more base institution that will support cadavers used for anatomy practice to other institutions."
Currently, cadavers can only be dissected at the institution that received the donation. However, the Ministry plans to revise related regulations soon to allow sharing of cadavers between institutions.
In this process, more roles will be assigned to the education-purpose cadaver provision institution, which will become a base institution supported by the budget.
One education-purpose cadaver provision institution will receive 512 million won, which is 64% of the total budget and about 7.3 times the budget per research-purpose institution (70 million won). Of this, 420 million won will be used for institution operation and equipment costs, and 92 million won for personnel costs such as cadaver procurement and processing staff.
Additionally, a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, "In the future, the donation consent form will be changed to include content that cadavers can be shared with other medical institutions from the time of donation." This means that if a particular school receives more cadavers than it actually needs, it can provide cadavers to other universities.
The official added, "If designated as an education-purpose cadaver provision institution, the institution can receive support for costs incurred due to storage and other reasons until the cadavers are sent to other places."
However, there appear to be hurdles to overcome before the regulations for cadaver sharing can be revised. Last year, Vice Minister Park Min-su mentioned this issue but faced opposition from the medical community.
In March last year, at a briefing by the Central Accident Response Headquarters for doctors' collective action, Vice Minister Park said, "About 1,200 cadavers are donated annually in Korea, but only about 800 are actually used by medical schools," and added, "Among the schools using 800 cadavers, some have surplus while others face severe shortages."
He continued, "This is a problem with the current system, which allows cadavers to be used only by the institution designated by the donor," and said, "To solve this, the law must be amended." He also added, "Even if redistribution of cadavers is achieved through system improvement, if the number is insufficient, importing cadavers like in foreign countries can be considered."
In response, 1,360 resigned residents criticized, saying, "Talking about importing cadavers and sharing them among medical schools tramples on our feelings and instrumentalizes the noble intentions of those who donated their bodies," and filed a complaint against Vice Minister Park for abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
