Turkish anatomists' preferences to continue teaching after death and how it is impacted by their religious beliefs

Abstract

The attitudes of anatomists toward donating their own bodies are a question of matter in the literature of medicine. The aim of the study was to evaluate the attitudes of Turkish anatomists regarding the donation of their own bodies as teaching material after death. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among anatomists in Türkiye during the months of March and April 2023. An online survey was carried out by means of a questionnaire constructed using Google Forms©. The survey consisted of a demographic data part, Likert-type multiple choice questions, open-ended questions, and yes–no questions. The questionnaire was answered by 133 anatomists from the anatomy departments in Türkiye. The mean age was 38.9 ± 7.30 years. 48% of the anatomists who answered were male and 52% were female. Most of the participants have a religious belief (90%). All of the participants with religious beliefs were members of the Islamic religion. Approximately 5% of the participants stated that they donated their bodies as cadavers. Anatomists suggested increasing body donation by 76.7% as a solution to cadaveric insufficiency. Although most anatomists state that there is a need for body donation, the rate of donating their own bodies seems quite low. We think that anatomists accept the importance of body donation, but they do not think of themselves as donors. They only recommend body donation to other people. We think that programs and activities should be planned especially for those who are uncertain about body donation and those who only donate organs but do not donate bodies.