U., medical students express thanks for donated bodies

U., medical students express thanks for donated bodies

(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Before stepping into her first anatomy lab, first-year University of Utah School of Medicine student Dani Golomb said she was terrified of dead bodies.

“You’re around a ton of bodies and there are smells and textures,” she said of her anatomy lab. "I had to learn how to be around a dead person."

However, after Golomb met Dallas — her assigned cadaver and one of the most "inspirational and inspiring teachers I've ever had" — Golomb recognized the value and importance of body donors.

“What other teacher is capable of such profound unselfishness and generosity than one who lets his students practice upon him?” Golomb said.

Several other U. medical students echoed Golomb's gratitude and experiences Friday at the school's annual donor memorial service.

“One cannot truly learn how to appreciate the human body without having done anatomy lab and working on a cadaver,” said Jason Chen, a medical school student.

In addition to students, several U. faculty members also expressed their gratitude for donors and their families.

"We appreciate this beyond words," said Wayne Samuelson, a professor of medicine. "The impact of that great gift stands well beyond what you think about today or tomorrow."

David Morton, an associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy, said that while he realizes many audience members were mourning the deaths of their loved ones, the university "can't thank them enough" for their donations to science and education.

Several attendees of the service shared their personal experiences with the university's donor program.

Lt. Cmdr Robert Olson, a member of the U.S. Navy, was serving in Bangkok, Thailand, when he learned his 72-year-old mother had passed away "very suddenly."

Olson flew back to the U.S. for a memorial service but was in the midst of what he called "a chaos of jet lag" and "a very confusing time."

However, Olson felt peace and closure when he and his four brothers took their mother to the U.'s body donor program, where they were given a private space to say their final goodbyes. Olson said the staff was "very sensitive to what we were going through" and explained how the decision to donate her body to science was going to help more people than he could ever imagine.

"I had this feeling that my mom is not gone, as she may be teaching some people right now, and that makes me very happy,” he said.

His brother, Dave Olson, said he was grateful for his opportunity to say goodbye to his mother in a scientific lab, and not a funeral home or casket.

"Usually when you say goodbye to a loved one, it’s in some fake flower bed and gray funeral home," he said. "Having this technical, scientific environment was, in a lot of ways, really comforting."

While the U. does not normally allow families of the donors to enter medical rooms, U. body donor program director Kerry Don Peterson said they will make accommodations for families who wish to do so and inform the university within "a few days" of donating the body.

"We do everything we can to accommodate families and help them with their grief," Peterson said.

Email: aberg@deseretnews.com

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