If it wasn’t for having the opportunity to work in a cadaver lab, a first responder said he would not have been able to save a teenager’s life.
The student had been taught to do a tracheotomy on a human cadaver from the University of Utah Body Donor Program, and soon after was able to use this skill to save a 17-year-old.
This body had been specifically donated to the program by a family for students to learn on, and the first responder students practiced how to triage a patient on the cadaver.
“If you could imagine trying to take a scalpel blade and sticking it through somebody's trachea, that would be very intimidating if you didn't know how that felt,” Heath Holverson said. “Mannequins and dummies don't give students the actual feel of human tissue.”
Holverson is the manager for the Body Donor Program at the University of Utah and has firsthand experience as a funeral director. He was once also a student himself at a cadaver lab. His program supplies cadavers to colleges and universities, including Central Wyoming College in Riverton, Wyoming
“It's different having your hands on something tangible,” said Scott Johnson, head of Casper College’s Biology Department and cadaver lab.
He is grateful for those who have donated a loved one’s body for education and is respectful of their gift.
The problem is there are not enough donor bodies to meet the academic needs of institutions like Casper College.
“Honestly, we need more donors,” Holverson told Cowboy State Daily. “I just had to turn down another university today that was looking for donors. We don't have enough donors to help and assist them with what their needs are. It's sad.”
Donate In Wyoming
Trell Elliot of Sheridan has expressed interest in donating his body in the far future, but wasn’t sure how to go about it in Wyoming. His mom had donated her body to the University of Michigan, and he said that he and his brother had no issues with her request.
Afterward, she was cremated and buried in the cemetery with the university taking care of the arrangements.
“It was never an emotional problem for us at all,” he said. “I guess I get the same attitude from her that when I'm dead, then maybe they can learn something my body that can be put to use. So that's what she did and that's what I'd like to do.”
There are no donor programs in Wyoming, however.
Holverson said that the University of Utah welcomes donors from the Cowboy State and all over the United States. He can also help connect donors to other programs if needed.
Casper College, for instance, uses the donor program at the University of North Dakota to receive its anatomical donor materials.
When a potential donor dies within 100 miles of the University of Utah, Holverson makes arrangements to pick up the body. For those farther away such as in Wyoming, he will work with a local funeral home to assist with the preservation, pickup and transportation to the university.
“Those that are in Wyoming, if they wanted to donate, they would just call us at the time of death,” Holverson said. “We'd go over our criteria and if they qualified, then we would have one of the local funeral homes help us out.”
Holverson encourages those considering the option of donating their body to a training school to make their plans known to their families. Not only do they have a short window of time to preserve the body, but the program will need to be involved in the entire process to make sure the body is properly preserved.
Qualification
There are about 12 criteria that someone has to meet to be able to be accepted into the body donor program. All of this is based off of the condition of the donor at the time of death, said Holverson.
The donor must have a body mass index of 32 or less and had no major surgery in the last two months. For the safety of students, Holverson also cannot accept bodies that have any contagious diseases.
Since the students will be dissecting and examining the body, it cannot have been previously autopsied or have any trauma.
“When we get that call, we would let them know whether they're accepted or denied,” Holverson said. “If they're accepted, and within that 100-mile radius, we'll go out and bring them bring them into our care. Outside of 100 miles, we'll have help from the local funeral homes.”
The family is responsible for the cost of preserving and transporting the donated body to the respective program. Once in the university’s care, the school will then take responsibility for any further incurred costs, including cremation.
Once the donor bodies come into the university’s care, it is explained to the families that the students will not do autopsies or provide any medical reports.
“I think the big advantage is that a lot of people learn hands on,” Trell said. “I don't see a problem with them utilizing the body to learn. I think it's a lot better than doing experimental surgery on a live person.”
There are not enough cadavers for all the students who need them. Donor programs are looking for people who want to plan ahead and donate their bodies to science and for education. (University of California-San Francisco) 
Left, students in the cadaver lab at Casper College sign their names on the skeleton as they participate in the course. They also are encouraged to illustrate their interpretation and perception of what they see. (Courtesy Casper College) 
Students working in the Casper College cadaver lab are encouraged to illustrate their interpretation and perception of what they see. (Courtesy Casper College) 
Students working in the Casper College cadaver lab are encouraged to illustrate their interpretation and perception of what they see. (Courtesy Casper College) 
There are not enough cadavers for all the students who need them. Donor programs are looking for people who want to plan ahead and donate their bodies to science and for education. (University of California-San Francisco) 
There are not enough cadavers for all the students who need them. Donor programs are looking for people who want to plan ahead and donate their bodies to science and for education. (University of California-San Francisco)
Honoring The Donors
Holverson and the schools he works with stress that they see the donation of a body as a gift and want to honor that.
“We will not allow any of our donors to be mistreated, and if we find out, we will not allow anybody to have access to those donors,” Holverson said. “It is the utmost importance that we honor those donors in that gift.”
At Casper College, Johnson has rules in place that only those in the course are allowed to even see the donor bodies.
“We do not allow any outsiders to come in and be lookie-loos,” he said. “That's by order by of the medical school at the University of North Dakota. So, you have to actually be in the course to view the anatomical donor materials.”
Plan Ahead
As you make the decision whether or not to donate your body for education, Holverson suggests that you make your wishes known so that your family can follow those wishes after death.
“If you put a donor on your driver's license, that doesn't mean that you're a donor for our program,” he said. “The donor on your driver's license is for organ tissue.”
The University of Utah has a page on its website devoted to the Body Donor Program which includes a link to a certificate of bequeathal for those who would like to begin the process themselves or for their family’s after their death.
Laid To Rest
Most families want their loved ones remains back, but for those that don’t, the University of Utah has a plot at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Out of respect for the donor, they will place the cremated remains in the common grave with a headstone noting the donation.
Holverson also recently bought a mausoleum that will soon have a plaque up to honor the donors.
“We had about 30 or so unclaimed remains where the family said they wanted them back, but they never came and received them,” he said. “We’ve placed those cremated remains inside of the mausoleum so if the family ever does come back and want those cremated remains, we know where they are.”
Holverson takes his role as the steward of the donors seriously and values their gift.
“Without donations and without individuals that donate, medical advancements can't be done,” Holverson said. “We need donors to be able to learn and to teach our teach our medical professionals. It's a great way to give back.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
