Undergraduate Medical Students’ Knowledge, Attitude and Awareness towards Body Donation: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background
Cadaveric learning plays a pivotal role in understanding human anatomy, enhancing both the medical and surgical skills of medical students. While the demand for cadavers to train medical and paramedical students is increasing, the supply continues to decline. Given that institutional cadavers are sourced entirely through voluntary body donation, evaluating the knowledge, attitudes, and awareness of MBBS students toward this practice is the objective of this study, as they have direct, firsthand experience with cadaver-based medical education.
Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students of Arunai Medical College & Hospital with the sample size of 450 across phases 1, 2, and 3 using a validated, Google Forms-based questionnaire containing both closed- and open-ended items to assess their perceptions of voluntary body donation with the study period of 2 months duration from Jan to Feb 2025. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results
Although 82.7% of participants were familiar with voluntary body donation programs, only 25.2% of respondents were in favor of pledging their own bodies for donation. Conversely, 83.5% expressed a willingness to actively participate in awareness drives for voluntary body donation. 
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that incorporating dedicated lectures on voluntary body donation, procedural skills, and the fundamentals of the 'Anatomy Act' including its legal complexities into the medical curriculum can positively shift medical students' perceptions and attitudes toward body donation.