Idaho State University seeks anatomical gifts for health–professions education

The Pocatello campus anatomy lab itself received an extensive remodel as well. With expanding allied-health programs on both campuses, the need for continued in-state anatomical donations is even more pressing.

Whole-body donation is not something on most peoples’ minds, but as Idahoans begin to plan their estates, the option of anatomical donation has appeal on multiple fronts. Foremost is the desire to give a lasting gift back to the community. Many prospective donors have received the benefit of well-trained health care providers and want the upcoming generation of professionals to have the best training opportunities possible. For others, the rising cost of final expenses makes whole-body donation an economical alternative to traditional burial. Anatomical gifts are vital to the continuing success of the Idaho’s health professions programs, and it is essential that the state be as self-reliant as possible in meeting its need for donors.

Amidst medicine's dazzling array of technology, nothing equals the human body in providing health-professions students with a foundation of applied anatomical understanding that will serve them throughout their clinical careers.

“The cadaver experience affords an unequaled opportunity to not only master the identification of structure, but also apprehend the variation in texture, shape, and positional relationships of organs and tissues within the human body,” said Jeff Meldrum, ISU professor of anatomy.

The ISU anatomical donation program is administered through the Department of Biological Sciences on the Pocatello campus, in collaboration with Downard Funeral Home.

             For downloadable application forms as well as further information about the program and your eligibility, visit the web page at www2.isu.edu/bios/donate/anatomical/index.shtml#preciousgift, or telephone 208-282-4150. For situations requiring immediate attention contact Lance Peck at Downard, 208-233-0686.