麻豆传媒

SLU Medical Students Honor 鈥業nvaluable鈥� Gift of Body Donors with Memorial Service

10/29/2024

St. Louis 鈥� Students at 麻豆传媒 honored those who donated their bodies for medical education with an on Friday, Oct. 25. 

First-year medical students organized the service, led by the faculty of the Center for Anatomical Science and Education (CASE), and Rev. Nicole Armstrong, campus minister of SLU's South Campus.

Launch SlideshowMedical student Nida Ahmed places flowers in the basket during the Interfaith Memorial Service for the Gift Body Program on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. Photo by Sarah Conroy.

Students were involved in every aspect of the service 鈥� from choosing and performing the music, creating the program artwork, and picking the flowers used in the flower procession. A mix of first-year medical, graduate, and Allied Health students also serve during the memorial giving reflections and participating in the flower procession.

First-year medical student Nathan McLaughlin had a special connection to the memorial. His grandfather D. Graeme Thomas, former executive director of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Research Innovation Group, was one of those who made the decision to donate his body to the School of Medicine. McLaughlin said his grandfather died suddenly in August, 鈥減assing just a day before our class's first day in the anatomy lab.鈥� He was 86.

McLaughlin spoke about his grandfather鈥檚 adventures from his birthplace in Australia to his final resting place in Saint Louis. He described his grandfather鈥檚 devotion to his work and 64 years of marriage to his grandmother. He also reflected on the love and the joy that he brought to the people around him.

鈥淭here's an old Greek proverb that says, 鈥楢 society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.鈥� Even though we don't know the stories of your loved ones, we can bear witness to the trees that they planted. Please know that the gift that your loved ones chose to give to us is one that we hold with the deepest respect and gratitude,鈥� he said.

First-year medical student Sindhu Ragunathan reflected that one of her greatest fears about spending hours in the anatomy lab was losing her sense of reverence for the human body and the life it once possessed. She worried that the stark setting of 鈥渂linding white lights and the overwhelming smell of formaldehyde鈥� would desensitize her.

Ragunathan wondered if she would begin to see her time in the lab as a task to check off to return to the familiar comforts of her life. She was bombarded by these thoughts until she noticed hot pink nail polish on the fingernails of a woman who had donated her body.

鈥淚t was a clue to the person she was before and a sign of how loved and cared for she was,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n learning about muscles, ligaments, tendons of the human body, we learn that even the smallest structures can hold the deepest meanings. Freckles spread across shoulders and cheeks that speak of a life spent in the sun. The anatomy lab cannot possibly feel cold and sterile with so many signs of life in it.鈥�

Ragunathan said she and her classmates will carry their legacy forward in their medical journeys as a reminder that their true purpose is to serve people.

The service, held at St. Francis Xavier College Church, honors all the faith traditions represented in the medical school class. This years鈥� service included prayers from the Catholic and Spiritual traditions.

Gift Body Program

Each year, people donate their bodies to SLU School of Medicine鈥檚 Gift Body Program through the Center for Anatomical Science and Education to educate medical students, allied health students and residents. Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, 362 people donated their bodies to SLU.

麻豆传媒鈥檚 Gift Body Program is committed to excellence in research and education. The study of human anatomy has long been and continues to be essential to training physicians, physical therapists and other health science professionals.

Twice a year, ashes are buried at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery, 7030 Gravois Ave. A graveside service is conducted by the medical school campus minister and attended by CASE faculty and staff. 

There is one common grave marker at the site with the following inscription: 鈥淪aint Louis University and its students gratefully acknowledge the charity of those buried here who gave their remains for the advancement of medical science.鈥�

Those interested in learning more about the gift body program can call 314-977-8027.