A proposal for body donation forms in Turkey: study of the Committee for Body Donation and Cadaver Monitoring

Informed consent is an integral part of daily anatomical practice. Providing adequate information regarding body donation process and emphasizing the importance of use of donated bodies in anatomy education will help the individuals who consider body donation. Current legislation that regulates body donation in Turkey does not provide details on the consent process. Additionally, recent research showed that registered Turkish body donors have various opinions on the use of their bodies, sharing their personal information with the departments and medical students, and retention time of their bodies or body parts. This resulted in non-standard or modified donation forms across different institutions. Therefore, the Turkish Society of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy (TSACA) decided that a standard and more comprehensive body donation form that addresses contemporary topics was necessary. The newly established Committee for Body Donation and Cadaver Monitoring has been assigned with this task. As of May 2020, the Committee had finalized the updated body donation form according to departmental feedback and donors’ opinions. This paper outlines the existing data and reasons along with the legal grounds for the current update.