In Kota, Scarcity Of Bodies In Medical Colleges Hampers Practical Studies

Lack of awareness on donating bodies and tendency to stick with post-death rituals are hampering practical studies of students in at least two medical colleges in Kota division.

The situation in the medical colleges in Kota and Jhalawar is such that they are hardly able to get 50 per cent of the bodies required, the colleges' authorities say.

They say getting bodies have become particularly tough over one-and-a-half-decade.

A college with 150 graduate seats requires annually at least 15 bodies for study, said Dr Pratima Jaiswal, head of the department of Anatomy, Medical College, Kota, adding a post-graduate student individually requires a body for his/her studies.

However, over the last six years, Kota Medical College has received only 17 donated bodies, Dr Jaiswal said, adding "the 17th donation was that of the body of Mohan Lal Jhabak (79), of Kota city, as per his will".

The college received maximum donation of six bodies last year. It has got three this year so far.

The medical college in Jhalawar has received no such donation and is meeting its requirement from Jaipur and Udaipur medical colleges, the college's principal said.

Earlier, medical colleges would get adequate number of unclaimed bodies but for over the last 15 years the civil society has grown active and tends to cremate or bury those, said Dr RK Aseri, Principal of Jhalawar medical Collge, Jhalawar.

Dr Aseri said the government also supports cremation and burial of unclaimed bodies making it very difficult to get them for students.

"We are getting less than 50 per cent of requirement of bodies for students and we have to bring them from Jaipur and Udaipur medical colleges," Dr Aseri said.

The two college administrations in Jhalawar and Kota have now been organising awareness campaigns to encourage people for donating bodies.

Five to six people in Jhalawar have come forward and pledges donations following the recent awareness campaigns, Dr Aseri said.

"People should come forward for body and organ donation as burying and cremating bodies have no utility," Dr Jaiswal said.

Any human body, before it decomposes, can be accepted by medical colleges, said Dr Aseri, adding, with advancement in technology, virtual human body may replace the dead ones for practical studies.